Are you creating customers for life? Are your customers card carrying members of your fan club? 
It’s been said that on average a happy customer or client will share their experience with three other people, while a negative experience will be retold upwards of 10 times.I readily admit I don’t have the scientific numbers to prove whether the above claim is true or not, but I can tell you that if there’s even the slightest smidgen of truth in it I don’t want to find out for sure! Do you? No, of course you don’t.
The following story from a friend of mine illustrates not only how important it is to take seriously the way we treat our past customers, but it also shows just how easy it is to blow what could otherwise be a lasting win, win situation for everyone involved.
About 3 months ago my friend Pete went into a local car dealership and purchased a car, he was absolutely delighted with every aspect of the purchase.The salesperson was perfect, the car was to his liking, all it seemed was wonderful. Except, it turns out, for one tiny detail. During the car transaction the salesperson mentioned that Pete would get his first oil change at no charge. All he would need to do is to call her (the salesperson) when the first oil change was due.
Three months passed, and all the while Pete had been happily sharing the positive experience he had from buying the car.Then the customer no-service nightmare begins (and I might add, whatever positive relationship had been in place up to that point went kaput!). Pete called the salesperson, he said he reminded her that he had bought a vehicle from her a few months back and just as she’d asked him to do he was calling to get the initial oil change scheduled. The one that was promised as a reward for buying the car from the dealership.First challenge… not only does she not remember his name, she doesn’t even act as though she has any clue who he is.
Second challenge… rather than offering to take care of scheduling the oil change herself — she says, “I don’t really handle that, but here’s the number of the service department person to ask for, he can take care of you”.Pete is surprised, but isn’t really bothered by it at this point. He calls the service department and a young lady answers. He explains the situation, and she says that the person whose name he was given was at lunch, and that she “doesn’t know anything about that” — that being the free first oil change when you purchase a car from the dealership.
Instead of offering to take his name she informs him that she would be happy to schedule something if he would like. Unfortunately the “something” wasn’t the promised free first time oil change.At this point Pete explains to her that he’s not interested in having their company handle any service work for him. While nice, he also explains that because of the lack of service — from the sales department to their service center he will not only not take advantage of their service department, he will also never purchase another vehicle from the dealership.
His reasoning was solid in my opinion, he said, “Bill, if I can’t count on this company to fulfill a simple oil change, how can I count on them to stand behind a vehicle which costs $45,000! Like I said, his reasoning was sound.
Unfortunately, for the dealership, that was just the beginning of their misfortune — literally in the form of missed referrals and the numerous retellings of this customer no-service story that my friend received.While he’s not a vindictive person at all, Pete has told well over 10 people I know of (myself included) about this unbelievable experience.
Think about that for a moment. Consider how many people will now give serious pause to doing business with this dealership.There are many lessons we can gain from the story above, not the least of which is this…If you make a promise, do your dead level best to live up to it. That’s not to say that you aren’t going to fall short at times, try as we might, we all have our moments where we fall short. Still, if you want to stand out above those in the marketplace when you fall short, do your best to rectify the situation. Be honest about it, admit you fell short and if possible do your best to make up for it.
The over-priced listing is a prefect example of how this works. You make promises you can't deliver and instead of going back and getting the listing priced where it needs to be, some agents continue on until it expires and the sellers begin the process of telling everyone how the agent didn't do a good job. BAD IDEA!
You don’t have to be perfect, and chances are, you can’t be 100% of the time no matter how hard you try, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a target worth aiming for. Aim for it, and you will find that far more often than not you will be way ahead of the game professionally and personally.
People not only want to be able to believe in and trust those they do business with — they will actively seek out those they can feel that way about. Tell your sellers and buyers the truth. Strive to be that person and you will attract more than your share of opportunity — and make a whole lot more sales in the process!
All Star Coaching thought for today: Failure is never final just the feedback you need to change course in your direction.
Have a day filled with positive customer service experiences..
BF
Comments(5)