Customer Service That is Unexpected

 

I came to a realization the other day while doing some shopping.  Consumers no longer expect customer service.  When I shop at certain stores, I have absolutely no expectation that I will be treated with care, or even treated appropriately.  Needless to say, if I can avoid those places, I will , and do.  My husband constantly asks me why I continue to do my grocery shopping at one particular store.  My answer isn’t hard to find, I know when I go into the store that I will pay more for the groceries there than at the competing store directly across the street – but I also know that the men who stock the produce greet me when I walk through the section.  The woman who manages the wine and beer section always asks me if there is something I need. (I have neighbors that know her by name and have learned that she is a recent grandmother, heartwarming.)  The more expensive store offers cookies and balloons to my children.  The meat department staffers will come from behind the counter if you spend a small amount of time deciding between meats to make sure you don’t need further help.  The store is clean. And they always ask me if I found everything okay when I go to checkout.  And the baggers ask more than once if they can help me to my car.  I’m not sure my husband wanted to hear that lengthy of an explanation, but he asked…

 

My recent realization also brought me to a conclusion:  there is a huge window of opportunity for those of us that desire to provide customer service.  Sadly, with the bar set so low, we really don’t have to go too far out of our way to offer customer service that will be memorable.  So, what about setting that bar much higher?

 

I recently re-read the book, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless, written by Jeffrey Gitomer.  His point being that a satisfied customer is really nothing to brag about.  That customer may or may not offer repeat business and probably will not produce the referrals that we really desire.  When we go above and beyond excellent customer service, when we treat our clients the way we would want (not expect) to be treated, we create a loyalty that will produce both repeat business and referrals.

 

This is a book I highly recommend.  If you are, like me, diseased with an Attention Deficit, it’s written straight to the point and not too many words.