Need more customers? Are you treating your existing customers with kindness?
Spending time in New York City (for the Fabulous 50 Small Business Inspiration Tour) and traveling cross-country avails one to much opportunity with customer service. It is always good when there are opportunities to contrast the great with the poor, as well as the mediocre.
I had a sales manager years ago who used to pace around, fists in the air, shouting, “It takes WORK to be mediocre — why not work to be GREAT?” – that made a big impression with me. Perhaps it was the fists, or his 6’5″ former football-player frame – but it did make an impact.
Mediocre: Jet Blue, although I love them dearly, has had issues with the runways being closed at JFK Airport – now I know that delays and flight cancellations are not their fault, but I believe they could do a better job alerting passengers – they have my email and cell phone – why not let me know the flight has been delayed? Why not put a blurb in the ticket information for those going in and out of JFK that there is only one runway open some of the time currently. It could make them look like the hero and not the villain.
Great: Participating in the Oprah Winfrey O Magazine 10 Year Anniversary weekend – there were four events – and we say Oprah at three of them. She did not spare any expense for a day of workshops for 6000 attendees, and at Radio City Music Hall she stood for 90 minutes on stage talking about HER story, in HER words – along with stories about the magazine. It was spectacular. I had no idea what Oprah would do on stage – certainly I expected her to sit down in a comfy chair. She and her big staff created a weekend that will be talked about for months. If you don’t believe me, just Google, “O Magazine 10 Year Anniversary” or “Live Your Best Life NYC Weekend”. and you’ll see.
Poor: I saw a multiple best selling business author speaking to a large group of business owners lose his edge. He forgot about who the customer was – he talked down to the audience and got mad (although he tried not to show it) when he was asked to deliver more “bottom-line” nuggets of wisdom. Amazing. I’ll keep his name to myself for now and will write more about this later.
Business owners or their staff often forget how important consistent interactions with the customer are – and what it costs them NOT to consistently be great. What are your customer service stories, and how do they add to your bottom line? Post a comment or send an email to me at Score More Sales, and I’ll mention them.
Lori Richardson is on a “Fabulous 50-50-50-50″ tour around the U.S. and parts of Canada. If you know of a town she should visit, or a local expert she can co-present with, drop her a note. Set your big audacious goals and post them for the world to see – then take action on them. More on Lori and the tour at Score More Sales.
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