Customer Service

How to Sell a $25 Doughnut

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Scott

What does a doughnut cost these days?

A dollar? Maybe less?

Would you believe I once paid $25 for one?

Now before you get the wrong idea, let me stress that there was nothing special about this doughnut. It wasn’t some gourmet creation made with organic ingredients or a super-secret recipe. No, this was just an ordinary, run of the mill, twelve-to-a-box doughnut. It didn’t even have sprinkles on it.

So why would I pay $25 for something so boring; something that’s essentially a commodity?

Here’s a hint: It wasn’t about the doughnut.

You see, this particular doughnut was provided by my oldest son’s school several years ago. The annual Grandparents Day Celebration was coming up and they needed items to offer at an associated fund-raising auction. In exchange for $25 (or an auction item worth at least $25), I could join Andrew for a parent/child doughnut breakfast.

Obviously, I could have taken my entire family out for doughnuts and spent a fraction of the money. But as I’ve already mentioned, this purchase wasn’t about the doughnut. It was about the experience.

There are a handful of organizations selling truly unique products out there. They have the luxury of letting the uniqueness of their product or service speak for itself. The rest of us sell – in one form or another – a commodity. And when you sell the same thing any number of competitors do, you have to approach things differently. The challenge isn’t how to explain your product. The challenge is how to explain what makes your product different; what makes it better.

The key is not to sell a product, but an experience.

Life is made up of experiences. And any interaction with you – your products, your staff, your brand – is an experience. How can you make each one of those experiences not just positive; but desirable? How can you create an experience that people won’t just pay for, but will pay a premium for?

That’s the challenge.

I didn’t pay $25 for a doughnut. I paid $25 for breakfast with my son. I paid a premium for the experience this particular doughnut provided. And I paid it gladly.

Survey Says …

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Scott

This weekend I received a package from The Nielson Company. They’re the ratings company that provides TV stations, advertisers with information about consumer viewing habits. I’ve been asked to provide information about my family’s media consumption.

Surveys like those conducted by Nielson are important. A well designed survey can provide a company with valuable insight into what its customers are thinking. Customer feedback is helpful in a number of ways.

Feedback lets you know what your customers WANT in the way of new products and services.
Feedback lets you know what your customers THINK about the products and service you already provide.
Feedback lets you know what your customers FEEL about your pricing structure and their perception of value.
Feedback lets you know what your customers SAY to others about the way your employees treat them.
Feedback lets you know what your customers BELIEVE about the policies and procedures that govern how they do business with you.

Happy customers lead to repeat business, longer relationships, positive word of mouth, and referrals. Happy customers lead to innovation, revenue, and growth. In short, happy customers lead to a happy business.

But surveys aren’t just helpful for learning about your customers. They can be a great way to gather information about the opinions of employees about a whole host of internal topics. Management can learn about new ideas, ineffective procedures, restrictive policies, and internal service problems before they become too problematic and impact the business. In many cases, employee surveys serve as advance warning signs – allowing you to act before customers are impacted.

Of course; in order for surveys to work, people have to participate. A handful of surveys aren’t enough to represent large customer or employee groups. So you have to design your survey in such a way that people feel compelled to participate. You can’t assume anyone wants to share their opinion with you. That’s why the best surveys …

… are short and to the point. You can’t waste participants’ time.
… are easy to complete. Easy to understand questions and a simple submission process are a must.
… are actively promoted. You have to remind people that their opinions are important and invite them to participate. … are anonymous. Most people aren’t comfortable providing negative feedback (often the kind you most need to hear) if they feel there’s a chance they’ll be mistreated as a result of speaking their mind.

It’s easy to dismiss the average survey. They’re all around us and most aren’t very well put together. But they can play an important role in the development of the businesses closest to us – those we work for and frequent. So as consumers and service providers we should take them seriously. Take advantage of the opportunity when you’re asked to provide feedback. And take care to study the feedback your customers have chosen to share with you.

Good business is a partnership between the organization, its customers, and its employees. By working together, we can bring more value to everyone involved. Make sure to do your part when given the opportunity.

I’m looking forward to participating in the Nielson surveys. I’m a fan of TV and am happy to provide my feedback. It’s nice to know that – at least in some small way – my voice makes a difference.

In Appreciation of the Humble Checklist

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Scott

There I was.

Out of town.

In a hotel.

And about to step into the shower.

That’s when I realized there was no soap.

It was the morning of an important meeting. Having stayed up late with an upset stomach, I’d hit the snooze button one or two times too many. There was no time to contact the front desk and wait for someone to bring a bar to the room. So I set aside my frustration and made good use of the shampoo.

Later on, as I reviewed the trip, I couldn’t help but think about the missing soap. It was a small oversight, but obviously a pretty significant one. How could something so critical to a guest’s stay be overlooked?

When you think about it, it’s really not that hard to understand. Today’s businesses have become increasingly complex. There can be hundreds of components to get right in order for things to work out perfectly. And with so many moving parts it’s very easy to miss one or more of the small ones. But it’s typically the smallest service misses that cause the most customer frustration.

So it’s no wonder that occasionally the soap is missing from a hotel room. From time to time a fast-food order is filled incorrectly. Every once in a while you open a box to find a part is missing. As hard as we try, every service provider is destined to miss something eventually.

But what if there was a simple tool you could use to make sure those little things weren’t overlooked? Would you use it?

Airline pilots use it; so do astronauts and quick-service oil change companies. Chances are you have one on your desk or in your computer or on your phone.

I’m speaking of the humble checklist.

When service providers perform the same steps over and over again, you’d think that things would become automatic; that nothing would be missed. But it’s for precisely this reason that small missteps happen. When service steps become routine, they can be taken for granted. And that’s when the details stand the greatest chance of slipping your mind.

In his book The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Harvard Medical School tells how implementing a simple pre-surgery checklist reduced complications and deaths by 35 percent. If highly skilled professionals like surgeons and airline pilots rely on checklists to get the little things right, why shouldn’t the rest of us?

The process is simple:

Map out your service delivery process.
Draft a checklist to document each step.
Use the checklist religiously.

Think you don’t need one? Gawande didn’t either. After, all he’s a Harvard-trained surgeon. But he wrote the book and felt compelled to practice what he preached. He says not a single week has passed at the hospital that his checklist hasn’t caught something.

What could a checklist help you catch?

A Simple Service Delivery Model

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Scott

A customer’s perception of your service can be made or broken by how you handle a single request for help. And providing superior service isn’t hard. In fact, it’s a lot easier than providing poor service. The best thing about providing excellent service is that both parties win. While the customer receives the benefit of your efforts, you receive the satisfaction of having done your best. To ensure you’re providing excellent service with every interaction, follow this simple three-step model.

1. Ask questions to identify or clarify the customer’s needs. Asking questions shows your customer that you are interested in helping them and are really listening to what they say. Effective questioning can also save you time and effort. Most importantly, asking questions leads to better service. While in the process of gathering information from your customer, you often uncover other needs or opportunities you can address; leading to a more memorable experience.

– Make sure to ask enough questions in order to fully understand the issue at hand, but not so many that you unnecessarily delay providing service.

– Start with open-ended questions – questions designed to gather a great deal of information.

– Use active listening skills such as taking notes, using body language that shows interest, and verbal encouragement.
2. Suggest a course of action. After you have gathered as much information as possible, recommend next steps.

– Clearly state your recommendation for next steps.

– Reinforce your suggestion with any supporting information.

– Ask for agreement.

– Do what you say you are going to do.
3 Build trust by adding value. To complete the service experience, add value by using one or more of these tactics.

– Provide information that enhances the customer’s understanding of the situation.

– Assist with other issues or questions uncovered during your interaction.

– Follow up to make sure things turned out as expected and offer additional help.

– Communicate any operational or process enhancements that came about as a result of the customer’s question or issue.

Service excellence isn’t difficult, but it does require intent and focus. By following this simple model, you’ll be sure to address every aspect of a customer’s request. And in the end, you’ll be rewarded with a stronger, more profitable relationship. That’s something we could all use more of.

A Prescription for Dealing with Difficult Customers

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Scott

I’m regularly asked to provide tips for dealing with difficult customers. You know the type – irate, demanding, and practically impossible to please. No matter how good your service is, you are guaranteed to encounter someone who just isn’t happy. Every business has them and employees dread waiting on them.

So, how do you handle these “difficult” customers?

The answer, I think, begins with understanding why the customer is upset or demanding in the first place. You see, most people don’t want to be difficult. They don’t want to be regarded as a problem customer. On the contrary, most of us want things to be easy. We want to get along with others and exist in harmony.

But sometimes this harmony is disrupted. Somewhere along the way, the customer’s trust in the organization is broken. The relationship is damaged. Perhaps a mistake was made, or perhaps something was miscommunicated. It may not even be your organization’s fault. But nevertheless, there they are, standing in front of you and being “difficult.”

Once you realize that your customer’s behavior is most likely the result of broken trust than a personality trait, it changes your perspective. You can focus on rebuilding trust vs. defending your position. You can stop dealing with difficult customers and start mending the relationship. Here are four steps to help you DEAL with these situations.

DEVOTE your full attention to the customer. Before notifying you of the problem, your customer spent rehearsing the interaction in their head. They practiced what they were going to say and probably anticipated excuses or denials of responsibility. This puts them on edge and causes them to act in ways that are perceived as “difficult.”

As service providers, we need to let the customer say what they have to say. Avoid interrupting – even of you quickly ascertain what needs to be done to make things right. The customer needs the problem fixed; but just as importantly, they need to express themselves to someone who will listen. Even if you quickly ascertain what needs to be done, avoid the temptation to short-circuit the process by interjecting. Ask questions to clarify, but give them the chance to tell their story.

EMPATHIZE with their situation. Empathy is the ability to understand another’s position. It’s important to let the customer know that you’ve heard what they have to say and respect their feelings. This validation is a critical step in the healing process because it lets the customer know you are on their side.

Remember, the reason your customer is acting aggressively is because they have anticipated a struggle in receiving the service they feel they deserve. When you empathize with their situation, you establish yourself as their advocate. This simple step is often all it takes to change the customer’s behavior. Once they feel they have someone who understands their plight, they relax and allow you to go to work on their behalf.

ACT quickly and decisively. Now that you know what’s going on, and have established yourself as the customer’s agent, it’s time to get busy. Do what it takes to make things right. Educate the customer along the way so they feel comfortable. Leaving them in the dark only serves to reintroduce confusion and suspicion.

This is not the time for guessing or assumptions. Make sure each step required is accomplished and follow through with any commitments you make to the customer. Any slip up negates the healing that’s begun to take place.

LET the customer know you really care. If necessary, say following an especially egregious offense, make a goodwill gesture to compensate for the customer’s frustration and inconvenience. The key is to reinforce the idea that the customer is valuable to you and any misstep in service was an anomaly. Apologize and thank them for their patience and continued business.

Studies show that a customer whose negative experience has been resolved to their satisfaction is more loyal than one who never has a problem at all. That’s because responding to service failures is often your best opportunity to shine. Your customer is bound to share their side of the story with others. Just make sure it has a happy ending.

The Best You Can Give: 10 Tips for Top Notch Service

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Scott

Some people make customer service so hard. They devise all kinds of barriers that get in the way. Or they focus on just about everything but the customer. And day after day, service takes a back seat. But, hey – as long as customers aren’t complaining, then everything must be ok. Right?

Wrong.

Studies show the vast majority of customers never complain about the less-than stellar service they receive. Oh sure, if things get bad enough a manager will hear about it. But most service isn’t really bad. It’s just mediocre. And customers have become so used to it that they don’t even notice how far things have slipped until they compare your service to someone else’s.

And if your service is found to be lacking, they’re gone. Poor service remains one of the top reasons why customers choose to take their business elsewhere. You just don’t know it until it’s too late.

But there’s good news. Providing great service doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are 10 easy ways to improve the level of service you provide.

1. Stand to greet the customer and introduce yourself (if appropriate).

2. Shake hands with the customer and repeat their name.

3. Let the customer do the talking. You should spend 70% of your time listening and only 30% of the time talking.

4. Speak slowly and clearly to ensure customers can understand you.

5. Make appropriate small talk to make customers feel welcome.

6. Make frequent eye contact throughout the transaction. Avoid speaking to the customer while looking at the computer screen.

7. Use the customer’s name occasionally during the transaction.

8. Keep a positive, energetic inflection in your voice.

9. Avoid placing blame for mistakes on others. Focus on solutions.

10. If possible, walk the customer to the door or back to the common area after your transaction is concluded.

Here’s a bonus tip. Thank every customer for their business.

There you have it. No silver bullet. No magic formula. Just basic customer service tips sure to add a little extra to your next customer interaction and leave your competitor wondering why their customer is now yours.

What They See: 5 Service Habits that Damage Your Credibility

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Scott

Service doesn’t just happen during an interaction with the customer. In fact, by the time you find yourself talking to them, your customer may have already have formed a negative opinion about you and the level of service they’re about to receive. That’s because as soon as they see and/or hear you, their experience begins.

Here are five behaviors to avoid any time customers are in the vicinity.

1. Personal conversations with other employees (especially when expressing negativity about the organization or its customers).

2. Using the computer to play games or browse the internet.

3. Talking, texting, or browsing on a personal cell phone.

4. Eating, studying, or conducting personal business in view of the customer.

5. Performing legitimate job duties when customers are obviously waiting. Assisting customers should always come first.

And here are five behaviors to display at all times.

1. Follow your dress code in order to ensure a professional appearance.

2. Keep your work area tidy and organized.

3. Acknowledge each customer as they enter your field of vision.

4. Smile.

5. Assume customers can see or hear you at all times.

Remember, just because you can’t see the customer doesn’t mean the customer can’t see you. So put your best foot forward at all times and make a great impression before the interaction even starts.

We Will Be Right With You: Five Tips For Managing Customer Wait Times

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Scott

Nobody likes waiting. But it seems we spend an inordinate amount of our time waiting for other people – people who are paid to serve – to turn their attention to us. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we have good reason to be upset. Their latest data indicates that each of us will spend over three days each year waiting in line. That’s six months of your life waiting for service. Is it any wonder we get irritated at waiting? But while most of us despise the idea of waiting, many of us are contributing to the problem. Customers enter our places of business every day and wait. And while some amount of waiting may be unavoidable, or even necessary, small improvements to customer wait time can have a significant impact on their perception of our service. Here then, are five tips for addressing wait times.

Eliminate or shorten the wait. Studies have shown that our perception of time is distorted. Customers will almost always report longer wait times than they actually experienced. In an ideal world, no customer would have to wait to be served. But short of that, anything you can do to shorten the wait time (without sacrificing some other aspect of service) will improve customer satisfaction.
- Cross train staff so that customers don’t have to wait for the one or two employees who can address their request.
- Beef up staff during peak times. If you know there’s always a rush on Friday afternoons, make sure you have adequate personnel to cover the volume. Study transaction records to determine when your peak times are.
- Set rules to address occasional high-traffic situations. For instance, you might set a rule that states any time a station has more than three customers in line, another station gets opened. Make sure all staff (the ones you cross-trained) understand the expectations.
Make waiting more enjoyable. If customers have to wait, make sure their time isn’t wasted staring into space or at you. Provide comfortable seating with up-to-date reading material or a television that plays something interesting to them. Try looping a video that shows tips related to your industry. If a customer walks away with more information that when they came in, the wait time will be seen as beneficial.
Minimize irritants. There are two things that really upset me while I’m waiting. One is not knowing why I have to wait. It’s like being stuck in a traffic jam wondering if the cause is a wreck or construction. So acknowledge the wait, apologize, and explain the cause. The other pet peeve is waiting for service while I witness other personnel milling about. I mentioned an example of this last week – my trip to the local movie theater. Why aren’t they helping me? Try to keep staff not assisting customers out of view.
Make waiting part of the experience. Disney World and other theme parks have realized that customers waiting for a ride on an attraction will quickly get irritated unless there’s something to distract them. So they’ve taken to using the waiting line as part of the experience. Think of ways you can utilize this concept. Like filling out information forms at the doctor’s office, time spent engaged in something useful doesn’t feel like waiting.
Reset the wait-time clock. Customers have an internal stopwatch that starts counting when the wait begins. But any time the wait is interrupted, the clock resets. If a customer has been waiting for a while, having someone check in on them – to offer refreshment or even make short conversation – will reset the clock. As a result, the customer’s perception of wait time is reduced.

Waiting may be an inevitable part of the customer experience, but it doesn’t have to be a frustrating one. Try a few of these tips and see how your customers respond.

Welcome! 5 Tips for Greeting Your Customer

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Scott

Last week, I wrote about the value of fresh starts. Of course, the ultimate fresh start occurs at the beginning of a new year. Last week, people all across the world greeted 2015 with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment. Among them were business owners, team leaders, and employees who resolved to improve the way they approach their work. You may have been one of them. For many, customer service remains a focus. Ninety five percent of businesses surveyed recently said that improving customer service was one of their top three initiatives for 2015. But it seems every year public perception of service drops despite promises made by companies that it is their top priority. As both a service provider and a consumer, I know how important the customer experience is to the success of any organization. That’s why I’m going to spend the next several weeks focusing my Monday article on simple customer service tips. There’s no rocket science here, just basic things that great companies get right. We’ll start where the customer interaction starts – at the beginning. Here are five simple tips to make sure your customer feels welcome in your place of business.

Greet each customer as they enter. I hate being ignored, and your customers do too. Simply greeting them as they walk through your door gets the interaction off on the right foot. Make it sincere (not the auto-robotic sounding greetings delivered by many fast food places) and don’t go overboard. You don’t want the customer to feel smothered; but greeting them acknowledges their presence and lets them know you care.
Hold the door if you are nearby. A lot of the businesses I visit seem to have forgotten common courtesy. Employees stand idly by while customers struggle with heavy doors, often juggling packages they’ve just purchased. With so many ignoring the customer on the way out, I can count on one hand the number I’ve encountered who go out of their way for customers on the way in. Impress your customers by going out of your way to hold the door for them.
Proactively ask how you can help. Often, I’ll visit a business and observe several employees standing around while one or two work a line of customers. In fact, it happened to me last night. Abby and I went to the movies on a father/daughter date. One young lady manned a register and filled orders. As we waited, I watched another employee standing to the side. He was engaged with a manager in a casual conversation and neither seemed concerned that customers were waiting. It was only after the manager noticed me watching that he came over to help. Don’t be that guy.
Acknowledge the customer even if you are otherwise engaged. Let’s say you are helping someone when another customer walks by or approaches. How do you respond? What about when you are on the phone as another customer enters? Try simply smiling or nodding your head in the new customer’s direction. Small gestures like this send the message that you are engaged and aware of their presence.
Greet customers as they enter the drive-thru. I hate pulling up to a drive-thru and being greeted by silence. I know those inside are probably assisting someone else or must be busy with another aspect of their job; but I can’t help wondering if they’ve forgotten me – or even know I’m there. I’d feel a lot better if they would just greet me and let me know they’ll be right with me.

These are only a few ideas for greeting the customer. And, as I said earlier, none are rocket science. But how you start usually determines how you finish. Make a commitment to finish strong. How will you make your customers feel welcome this year?

Give Thanks. No, Really Give It!

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Scott

Tis the season to be thankful, right? By now you’ve probably read a number of Facebook posts or newspaper articles about the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday; so I won’t bore you with those details. Suffice it to say that the fourth Thursday in November has become the traditional day of the year to express gratitude for the blessings you enjoy. Now, obviously, you should be thankful throughout the year, not just on a particular day. Thanksgiving is just the day we set aside time to really think about it.

But what about those other 364 days of the year? Shouldn’t we make a special effort to express our gratitude every day? Don’t you like it when someone tells you “Thank you” or goes out of their way to show appreciation for something you’ve done?

Author and speaker Stephanie Chandler thinks so. She’s compiled a list of 12 Ways to Thank Your Customers. These are all pretty basic ideas and most of these suggestions have been discussed in our basic sales & service training classes. See how many of these you already have in place.

Greeting Cards. Think of all the major, minor, and wacky unofficial holidays on the calendar during the year. Why not send out a card to celebrate with your customer?
Personal Notes. Forget the email or form letter. Pull out the stationery and a pen. Now write a few short lines that mean something personal to your customer.
Invitations. Call up a customer and invite them to come in for some face-to-face time. Call it a portfolio review or research study. Spend some quality time listening to your customer and see what a huge impact it makes.
Small Gifts. They don’t have to be lavish or expensive. They just have to say “I was thinking of you.”
Food. We like getting food at work right? Why not return the favor?
Gift Cards. Know what your customer likes? Get them a gift card to their favorite store or restaurant. Don’t know what they like? Try Amazon!
Referral Rewards. When a customer thinks enough of you to refer new business your way, it’s time to say “Thank You!”
Reverse Referrals. I’ll bet your business customers like to receive referrals too.
Customer Appreciation Days. Plan something around Founder’s Day or Customer Appreciation Week. Or just choose some arbitrary day and make it special.
The Gift of Information. See an article or book you think might interest your customer? Why not send it their way with a special note?
Host Events. Hosting an open house or cook out is an easy way to show your appreciation.
Life Events. Did your customer receive a promotion? Did a son or daughter graduate? Did they get married, open a new location, or close a big sale? Let them know you noticed.

There’s no rocket science involved here. The key is to develop an attitude of gratitude and perpetuate it all the time – not just once a year. And if you don’t currently have an active “appreciation strategy,” now is the perfect time to start. Just pick one of these ideas and get to it.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that most of these suggestions also work for coworkers. That’s another group just begging for some appreciation. Whew, I don’t know about you; but I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Got a great way of saying “Thank you?” I’d love to hear about it.