Customer Service 101?
I recently received an e-mail newsletter — from a site I like to frequent, marketingprofs.com. This short one-page “Get to the Point” newsletter is very informative and most times, I end up forward it to someone I know, because I think it’s worthy of passing along. (If you have anything to do with marketing yourself, your business, or other people’s businesses, marketingprofs.com can be an invaluable resource.)
For a recent issue, the topic was Customer Service 101. One of the items in this particular issue talked about how a customer is not your friend. It discussed how customers do not care about your personal issues, they don’t want to hear excuses about why you didn’t get something done, they really just care about their product / service. …
I must say, I totally disagree.
When you take the time to cultivate your customer relationships, and you genuinely care about them, their businesses, their organizations, their families, these people actually are your friends. The relationship transcends the business function, and becomes something greater, something way more fulfulling and beneficial for both parties. It’s really quite Jerry Maguire-esque.
Because you know what? Sometimes Life Happens. It is when Life Happens that you see your relationship prove its worth. Sometimes, your 2-year old gets sick, and you end up spending six hours in the emergency room waiting for x-rays. Life Happens. Sometimes your computer gets fried from a lightning strike and you lose months worth of work. Life Happens. Sometimes you lose a business partner and have to pick up the slack in a matter of days. Life Happens.
Does this mean you make excuses and you worm your way out of getting something done? No. Of course not. If you are not above board, your clients will know it. If your efforts are self-serving, eventually it will catch up to you and your excuses will begin to characterize you; not only will you lose your customers, but you will carve out the path to the ultimate demise of your business.
You are defined by the little choices you make every day: a thousand little decisions that no one else will notice but you. It is those decisions that ultimately shape your relationships. Those seemingly insignificant choices are the decisions that characterize who you are; they are part of your fiber, your very being.
There is no traffic at the extra mile, and when you are there day in and day out, your customers see you out there, working for them, doing what you know is best (though not always easiest) … and they notice. So, when Life Happens, your customers will understand. Not only will they understand, but they will actually care.
And that’s what I dig about this business. It matters. The extra work, the extra care, the extra effort. It really does matter … even when Life Happens.
Just my 2¢ anyway!
© 2007 Jennifer Poyer