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Executive Director’s Letter
It’s all in the details My worst customer service expe-
Impressions
rience was several years ago We all know that first imwhen I started getting notices pressions are important, but from a nationwide movie rental what’s REALLY important are company, which said I had not the small details that create returned a video. Well, that’s not your customers’ overall experisurprising since my children ence. The name of the game had been known to rent videos is for your customer to easily Todd Daniel in my name. and smoothly get what he or So, I asked my daughters and is executive she needs in a timely manner. director of searched the house, and came up NOMMA. If you meet that objective, clean. More notices came, and you win! they got nastier and nastier, and then the phone messages started. Systems in place? The funny thing is that the Now is the best time to get name of the video was not menready for the next customer. tioned on the correspondence. When I Make sure your phone message system went to the store, they were unable to is clear and that the voice mail directell me the name of the missing movie. tory is current. Make sure there is alAmazingly, they were accusing me of ways a “backup” employee available in not returning one of their videos, but case someone hits “0” and your recepthey could not tell me which video I altionist is away. Check to ensure that legedly had. Not surprisingly, the comcritical information is on your website pany filed for bankruptcy last month. and easily accessible. Provide a map to your business, showroom hours, and a Lesson learned list of contacts. This is just one case I’ve seen of a Finally, train your entire staff on giant company that became so lost the importance of putting the customin its “systems” and bureaucracy that er first and providing what they need they could not make a simple, logiin a hurry. cal connection for the customer. I can give example after example of similar Success! experiences, where restaurant servers Losing a customer is often a cumuare more focused on their chores and lative action. If the “details” are conignore customers, or voice mail syssistently missing or wrong, he or she is tems that send me on a lost journey. going to have a negative feeling about The point is, you can have the your company, even if they can’t cite greatest company in the world, with any one particular incident. the greatest “systems” in place, but if My rule of thumb is, always put the point-of-contact with the customyourself in the customers’ shoes and er fails, everything else fails. ask, “Does this make sense to me?” and “Is this how I would like to be Take the test treated?” If you enjoy being a customYou’ve probably heard this idea er of your own company, then you’ve before, but have you ever tried it? really hit the goal. Pretend you are a customer and look at your company from their vantage point. Examine your phone system, website, correspondence, and the way your staff interacts with customers. Is your business “user friendly?” Fabricator n November/December 2010