In my personal time I absolutely love gardening. Getting out in the sunshine to grow our own produce is very satisfying, but also provides a lot of time for thinking. While we're heading into winter shortly, and all our summer crops have finished it is time for planting the few plants that will survive winter.
As such, this morning I took a trip to our local nursery. While it's a little more expensive than the big box hardware stores we have a short distance down the road, I knew which plants I needed specifically and that it would be simpler to get the seedlings here.
Even with my 3 year old son in tow, it was a quick trip. Straight to the seedlings, a quick bee-line to the seeds and then to the front counter. And a quick lesson in customer service.
The first question from the assistant as I put my plants on the counter was "Sorry, what was your name again? And your son's?" While I've not been in there for around 6 months (and I doubt that he would have remembered my name in that time even if he did know it earlier), he asked in such a way to show that he was interested in ME!
And the second question wasn't really a question the way he asked, but could have lead to a great question: "Make sure you put some *** product on the seedlings to keep the moths off them, there are still a few caterpillars around at the moment... " I can't remember the exact product name, but if I notice any caterpillars I'll be back there to ask him about it.
So the question he should have asked is along the lines of "Would you like to take it with you today?"
He got me thinking less of the garden and more about service. By selling me a product, he would have provided even better service than just simply having a nice smile and having my transaction completed quickly. But also, he wasn't just selling me anything - he was selling a product that clearly met my needs, and in a way that he was telling me about a need that I didn't even know about!
How in your business could you offer great service to your clients by actually selling them something?
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Great Phone Service
I know that when we look at customer service, it's very easy to take note of poor service and sometimes difficult to recognise good service.
I'm in the process of buying a new car at the moment and amongst a number of companies that weren't replying to emails and phone calls, there was one mechanic that was excellent with their responses. I was just calling to get quotes for some work that may be required, and one business answered promptly and one of their (non-mechanic) staff were able to provide a quote, let me know all the information I needed and suggest a time to book it in. Since everything lined up, it just made sense to book it in and if I buy this car, they've earned $3,000 for a simple phone call. I'm still waiting for return phone calls from other companies...
I also needed to call a technical help desk to reset our TV today. The steps in the manual weren't working, so I was ready to throw the remote at it (my technical skills aren't very high), but I thought that I'd give the customer service line a call. The gentleman on the phone was able to clearly step me through what was required and resolved the issue very promptly.
In many businesses electronic communication is a great asset that can help improve revenues. However, they do also create a higher sense of expectation with the customer as many users will simply assume that if it's electronic communication it should be immediate. Being able to respond promptly to phone calls as in these cases goes a long way to ensuring that you meet the customer's expectations.
I'm in the process of buying a new car at the moment and amongst a number of companies that weren't replying to emails and phone calls, there was one mechanic that was excellent with their responses. I was just calling to get quotes for some work that may be required, and one business answered promptly and one of their (non-mechanic) staff were able to provide a quote, let me know all the information I needed and suggest a time to book it in. Since everything lined up, it just made sense to book it in and if I buy this car, they've earned $3,000 for a simple phone call. I'm still waiting for return phone calls from other companies...
I also needed to call a technical help desk to reset our TV today. The steps in the manual weren't working, so I was ready to throw the remote at it (my technical skills aren't very high), but I thought that I'd give the customer service line a call. The gentleman on the phone was able to clearly step me through what was required and resolved the issue very promptly.
In many businesses electronic communication is a great asset that can help improve revenues. However, they do also create a higher sense of expectation with the customer as many users will simply assume that if it's electronic communication it should be immediate. Being able to respond promptly to phone calls as in these cases goes a long way to ensuring that you meet the customer's expectations.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Grocery Shrink Ray
I was reading The Venture (a blog on The Age website) today about the Grocery Shrink Ray - when companies reduce their product size, but maintain their retail price. While this saves the manufacturer having to increase their prices, it can create a significant consumer backlash.
Along with highlighting some (Australian) cases in which this has occurred, he also offers a list of ten pricing mistakes for small business start ups to avoid.
Along with highlighting some (Australian) cases in which this has occurred, he also offers a list of ten pricing mistakes for small business start ups to avoid.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
My Job Would Be Easy Without Customers
"My job would be easier without customers."
How many times have you heard your staff or colleagues use that phrase (and many would also add "or staff...")? Generally it is when there are problems in our dealings with a client, or the commercial pressures of trying to gain sales when many staff may feel that "sales" is not their thing.
Over the last few days we've been dealing with a situation kind of in reverse to this. Our hot water service wasn't installed correctly by the builder, however none of the service people in the chain required to fix it are really taking any ownership, so I've had to push our position a little more (5 days of no hot water for baths, showers or doing dishes gets a little draining).
The builder isn't interested since the owners (we are currently renting) have paid their final payment, so the builder isn't responsible for the upkeep. The property manager looking after our house has called the appropriate people, so is following her manuals (but not following up). The manufacturer has subcontracted a plumber to check the hot water system (so the company is saying that they've done what they can). Meanwhile, the plumber contracts for a number of different companies, with many commercial contracts amongst us residential clients, so we're pushed to the bottom of his list.
Any time that I try to complain about having it fixed, each person will simply refer me on to the next person, who then will pass the blame to the next person. It all does a loop back to the builder (and given the state of some of the other aspects of the house, it doesn't surprise me that the builder has cut corners with the hot water system).
Thinking about this today, I realised that form a customer's perspective some times it would be easier to deal with organisations if the organisation's didn't have staff.
While many staff do a good job, the customer will often get different information by asking different staff members. Also, when there's an issue, it usually only gets fixed when the customer is left to arrange for it to be fixed themselves. Everyone just assumes that the person who needs to fix a problem knows about the problem, and that the problem will just magically disappear.
Unfortunately, this doesn't happen. I won't get started on the "but that's not my job" line today (I'm already worked up enough!), but if everyone in the organisation simply helped resolve the issues that the customer in front of you (or on the phone etc), then our customer's would be much happier. In this way, they'd be receiving Platinum Class Service.
How many times have you heard your staff or colleagues use that phrase (and many would also add "or staff...")? Generally it is when there are problems in our dealings with a client, or the commercial pressures of trying to gain sales when many staff may feel that "sales" is not their thing.
Over the last few days we've been dealing with a situation kind of in reverse to this. Our hot water service wasn't installed correctly by the builder, however none of the service people in the chain required to fix it are really taking any ownership, so I've had to push our position a little more (5 days of no hot water for baths, showers or doing dishes gets a little draining).
The builder isn't interested since the owners (we are currently renting) have paid their final payment, so the builder isn't responsible for the upkeep. The property manager looking after our house has called the appropriate people, so is following her manuals (but not following up). The manufacturer has subcontracted a plumber to check the hot water system (so the company is saying that they've done what they can). Meanwhile, the plumber contracts for a number of different companies, with many commercial contracts amongst us residential clients, so we're pushed to the bottom of his list.
Any time that I try to complain about having it fixed, each person will simply refer me on to the next person, who then will pass the blame to the next person. It all does a loop back to the builder (and given the state of some of the other aspects of the house, it doesn't surprise me that the builder has cut corners with the hot water system).
Thinking about this today, I realised that form a customer's perspective some times it would be easier to deal with organisations if the organisation's didn't have staff.
While many staff do a good job, the customer will often get different information by asking different staff members. Also, when there's an issue, it usually only gets fixed when the customer is left to arrange for it to be fixed themselves. Everyone just assumes that the person who needs to fix a problem knows about the problem, and that the problem will just magically disappear.
Unfortunately, this doesn't happen. I won't get started on the "but that's not my job" line today (I'm already worked up enough!), but if everyone in the organisation simply helped resolve the issues that the customer in front of you (or on the phone etc), then our customer's would be much happier. In this way, they'd be receiving Platinum Class Service.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Platinum Class Service
I thought that I'd follow up the introduction piece with some thoughts on Platinum Class Service.
The analogy starts with many credit card companies and airlines. Generally you'll have a silver level above the basic level, rising through gold up to platinum. Thus, Platinum Class Service is the highest level of customer service.
It also happens all the time - frequent flyers on the highest levels don't get once off privileges to use each year. They fly so frequently that simply quoting their frequent flyer number allows them use of their privileges with every flight. Likewise, Platinum Class Service is giving the highest level of customer service - all the time.
The textbook definition of platinum service would be exceeding customer's expectations in the service they receive. I'll relate this to ordering a pizza. There's a well known pizza restaurant in Chicago that is considered by some as the home of Chicago-style pizza (well, one of the restaurants laying claim to that fame!). My wife and I have eaten there on many occasions but decided one night to order take out via their website.
On placing our order, we were advised that it would take up to 45 minutes. While this is significantly higher than what a chain store pizzeria could cook a pizza in, it is well worth the wait. After 45 minutes I turned up to the restaurant and was shuffled to three different areas before finding out that the pizza was going to be another 30 minutes away (since the store uses a third party to process the order there is an additional 30 minute lag).
The pizza store has fantastic pizza and even a 45 minute wait (since I was warned on the website) didn't upset my wife and me, however it then gave me a new expectation on the store's service. When I then turned up at that stage and was told that it wouldn't be ready for another 30 minutes, my expectations weren't met, and thus I didn't receive Platinum service.
We probably will still visit this restaurant as we've dined in their restaurant on a number of instances without issue, but if we'd been a first time customer I would have been looking for another pizza store.
I'll compare this to an experience with Singapore Airlines a few years ago, on my first overseas trip. My wife and I had flown on an around the world ticket with Star Alliance, and as a result had been on a number of different airlines. At the time, our only knowledge of Singapore was that they had seat back entertainment (only a handful of carriers had this during this time). Aside from that, we had no idea of their service.
A few hours into a 12 hour flight from Frankfurt to Singapore, I was having trouble resting as the seat I was sitting in was broken. I let the attendant know about it, simply so that when we landed they could look at having it fixed for the next passenger. Soon after, he returned with a replacement cushion which fixed the problem, and a small bag of merchandise as an apology for the discomfort. While it was only a minor inconvenience, it exceeded my expectations. Shortly after this, he then delivered two piping hot mocha's from the business class galley for my wife and I!
In future posts I will go into more detail about the "hows" of Platinum Service, this is to help give an idea of a baseline.
The analogy starts with many credit card companies and airlines. Generally you'll have a silver level above the basic level, rising through gold up to platinum. Thus, Platinum Class Service is the highest level of customer service.
It also happens all the time - frequent flyers on the highest levels don't get once off privileges to use each year. They fly so frequently that simply quoting their frequent flyer number allows them use of their privileges with every flight. Likewise, Platinum Class Service is giving the highest level of customer service - all the time.
The textbook definition of platinum service would be exceeding customer's expectations in the service they receive. I'll relate this to ordering a pizza. There's a well known pizza restaurant in Chicago that is considered by some as the home of Chicago-style pizza (well, one of the restaurants laying claim to that fame!). My wife and I have eaten there on many occasions but decided one night to order take out via their website.
On placing our order, we were advised that it would take up to 45 minutes. While this is significantly higher than what a chain store pizzeria could cook a pizza in, it is well worth the wait. After 45 minutes I turned up to the restaurant and was shuffled to three different areas before finding out that the pizza was going to be another 30 minutes away (since the store uses a third party to process the order there is an additional 30 minute lag).
The pizza store has fantastic pizza and even a 45 minute wait (since I was warned on the website) didn't upset my wife and me, however it then gave me a new expectation on the store's service. When I then turned up at that stage and was told that it wouldn't be ready for another 30 minutes, my expectations weren't met, and thus I didn't receive Platinum service.
We probably will still visit this restaurant as we've dined in their restaurant on a number of instances without issue, but if we'd been a first time customer I would have been looking for another pizza store.
I'll compare this to an experience with Singapore Airlines a few years ago, on my first overseas trip. My wife and I had flown on an around the world ticket with Star Alliance, and as a result had been on a number of different airlines. At the time, our only knowledge of Singapore was that they had seat back entertainment (only a handful of carriers had this during this time). Aside from that, we had no idea of their service.
A few hours into a 12 hour flight from Frankfurt to Singapore, I was having trouble resting as the seat I was sitting in was broken. I let the attendant know about it, simply so that when we landed they could look at having it fixed for the next passenger. Soon after, he returned with a replacement cushion which fixed the problem, and a small bag of merchandise as an apology for the discomfort. While it was only a minor inconvenience, it exceeded my expectations. Shortly after this, he then delivered two piping hot mocha's from the business class galley for my wife and I!
In future posts I will go into more detail about the "hows" of Platinum Service, this is to help give an idea of a baseline.
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