Stopped by our local East Side Mario’s for dinner the other night. It was a nice night and since it was mid-week the restaurant wasn’t too busy, so we decided to sit on the patio. However, when we asked the hostess to be seated outside we were told that it would be 15 – 20 minutes before we could be seated. However, we could be seated immediately if we wanted to sit inside.

When I asked why we couldn’t be seated outside immediately — since approximately 50% of the tables were open — we were told that there wasn’t enough staff scheduled on the patio to serve more tables.

My Perspective: If there were enough staff in the restaurant to serve the total number of customers — then why couldn’t they simply reallocate some of the inside staff to serve outside on the patio?

It was such a nice night outside that people wanted to enjoy the evening. In fact people were waiting for tables — while servers inside stood around since their tables weren’t full.

My guess is that staff had been scheduled to stations in advance and that no one either had the authority or the initiative to adjust the staffing arrangement to address the customer desire as a result of the weather. Seemed kind of a no-brainer to the customer — but if the management hasn’t built in this type of flexibility then they will often be faced with disgruntled customers who can’t understand why there are silly rules preventing them from achieving their desired outcomes.

Is there any rules in  your business that seem silly to the customer — even though they make sense to you?

Have a look at your processes through the eyes of the customer and see if you see any areas for adjustment that can increase your opportunity to delight your customers. If you can’t see any holes — ask someone who doesn’t work in the business to have a look. They might see something you miss because they see things through fresh eyes.

Last week, Audi Canada lost a customer.

The customer currently has a 2009 A3 and 2007 A4 in their garage and was considering a Q5 for their next new vehicle. They also lost the brother-in-law of that customer who drives a Q7.

Plus there is all of the friends and family that will hear the story that I am about to tell you.

It seems that Audi decided that saving $1,000 — the cost to repair a leather driver seat in a 4 year old A4 — is a better financial decision that investing in the good will to stand behind their product and keep a customer loyal.

Back in 2007, when this customer was considering a new vehicle, the decision was between BMW, Lexus and Audi. The customer had been driving BMW’s since the 80′s and still had a 1990 BMW 325 convertible — which he loved to drive. But it was time for a new car for his wife. The final decision came down to the BMW, which they had a great family history with and the Audi A4.

One of the key tipping points for the Audi was the leather seats — you see BMW had started to use leatherette in the lower end models. The costs of similar vehicles were very close, but the leather seats just stuck in their minds as “going cheap”. In the end they liked the sales rep and they purchased the Audi.

They told all their family and friends about the experience with Audi and the brother-in-law also purchased a Audi Q7 when they replaced their Lincoln Navigator.

Fast forward to 2009, and the original customer needed another new vehicle. Since the sales rep was very good and the A4 was running beautifully, they decided to get an A3. There was no shopping around this time — since they now had an established relationship with Audi and the local dealership/sales rep. They were more than “satisfied”–  they were now “loyal”.

However, this past week, the wife — who was the main driver of the A4 — noticed a crack in the “leather” of the driver’s seat. The dealership was approached about this issue and they agreed that a crack of this nature was unacceptable and agreed to ask Audi Canada for some assistance although the car was no longer under warranty. After all, they were good customers who already had 2 Audi vehicles and had been bringing all their service work to the dealership (which is where the dollars are made in the car industry).

Much to their surprise, Audi Canada refused any assistance. The car was out of warranty — “too bad so sad”.

However, in an effort to salvage the deteriorating situation, the dealership offered to absorb the cost of the labour ($480) if the customer would pay the cost for the new seat cover from Audi Canada ($580). The dealership also advised the customer that if they called Audi Canada directly and complained that Audi Canada may back down and pay part or all of the claim — because the customer refused to go away.

My Perspective: Audi Canada needs to re-think their customer service policy.

They are throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales to save thousands of dollars. Their cost benefit analysis is broken.

They have turned a loyal advocate into a vocal critic who is now telling everyone who will listen to not buy Audi’s because they have cheap leather seats and refuse to stand behind poor workmanship in their vehicles.

How much smarter to look after this customer and then ask for a recommendation.

Are you looking at the short term value of a transaction against the long term value of a customer?

Do you know the long term value of a customer? What about their value as an ambassador of your organization based on the number of people they influence who might use your product or service based on their recommendation?

If you are not clear on the number, make sure you think then through. Then make sure you are making decisions for the long term vs. simply the short term.

Postscript: That customer in this story was me and will now be shared with thousands of people as a great story to illustrate my message of building long-term, profitable relationships with customers when I speak at conventions and conference across North America. Hopefully I will see you at one soon

In our last article we covered the reasons why employees need guidelines, not just rules. This article shares some specific guidelines on how to engage with customers. When customers are positively engaged, they’re more likely to be satisfied. Satisfaction can become loyalty and this leads to overall increased profitability.

Each and every person in your organization has the opportunity to create a positive impression on your customers — to impact their experience and potentially convert them from a lukewarm satisfied customer to a red-hot loyal customer.

From full and properly stocked shelves, to offering a friendly smile, or guiding a customer to a sought after product, the way you treat your customers will determine whether they return, or move on to the competition.

Exceptional Customer Service is always about the customer — it’s understanding and responding to their needs — making them feel special.

Here is a simple 4-step formula to help employees remember how to GIVE exceptional customer service each and every time they interact with customers.

These guidelines work whether you are dealing with a customer for the first time or whether it is a repeat visit. They also work well when dealing with a customer complaint.

Greet: Greet every customer with a smile, make eye contact. This lets them know you see them and are ready to help. Asking “how may I help” rather than waiting for people to approach will create a positive experience. Greet your customers in a friendly and approachable manner and adjust your tone according to their needs — your greeting would be different for a customer asking for information versus one who might have a problem and is a bit upset.

In every case, you want to let the customer know that you are ready to listen and respond to their needs — and help build long-term loyalty.

Interact: Listen carefully to each customer’s request. Are they looking for help? Do they have a complaint? Be careful not to jump to conclusions about their needs, and never take their comments personally. Remember, customers often don’t express their needs clearly and ask their real question. So make sure you listen for the real question behind the question.

Choose your attitude — be courteous, friendly and polite. A positive, caring attitude will sooth even the angriest customer and will turn a satisfied customer into a red-hot loyalist. Help them — make it easy for them to accomplish their outcome faster, easier and more conveniently — and you will create long-term loyalty.

Verify: After you have listened to understand their needs, make sure your actions address their opportunity or concern? It is often a good idea to confirm with them what you have heard and then whether the solution you propose will address their need — before taking action. For example, if they ask your closing time — what they might really want to know is “what the latest time they can receive service”. Or if their preferred brand is not available, you could ask how often they would be purchasing, and potentially offer to order the product for them.

Little will be accomplished by rushing an answer or hurrying off to solve an issue they don’t have. There is little value in taking action that the customer doesn’t need.

Express Thanks: Always say “thank you” — it makes all the difference. Customers often express thanks when they receive help from a sales person or change from a cashier, but it really should be your team expressing thanks to your customers for their business. Letting your customer know their business is appreciated is an essential part of making them feel welcome and valued.

No two customers are ever alike, so train your staff to follow these 4 simple steps to GIVE exceptional customer service: Greet, Interact, Verify and Express Thanks.

Plus it’s a lot more fun talking with people and sharing in their positive experience than standing around counting the minutes until your shift ends.

Remember; without customers we have no business — without repeat customers we are out of business!

Download your FREE GIVE Poster today!

I was recently alerted to this communications from Zappos Canada. As many of you know, Zappos is often referred to as a gold standard in customer experience and this is one of the reasons why.

Hey, everyone. While we often have fun things to talk about in this space, we sometimes have less pleasant topics to share.

We have made the difficult decision to shut down the canada.zappos.com site and stop shipping to Canada. One of our core values is to “deliver WOW through service”. That means the best selection of brands and products that can meet just about every individual’s needs as well as fast, free shipping and free returns, all at competitive pricing. Our Canadian customers know that we have not lived up to these service levels.

Product selection on canada.zappos.com is limited due to distribution agreements with the brands we sell in the United States. In addition, we have struggled with general uncertainty and unpredictability of delivering orders to our Canadian customers given customs and other logistics constraints.

We would like to thank our loyal Canadian customers and are sorry that we will not be able to serve you in the same way. Beginning April 1, 2011, we will no longer ship orders from canada.zappos.com. Some of you may have electronic certificates with open balances. If that is the case, please be sure to redeem them prior to April 1, 2011. Of course, as always, we will still be accepting your orders placed from Canada and shipping to US addresses on www.zappos.com. Customers can always reach us 24/7 by calling 1-800-927-7671 or emailing cs@zappos.com.

Thank you for reading this. While you may not like our decision, we hope you understand the reasons.

Chris Nielsen
CFO, COO
Zappos.com, Inc.

My Perspective: Zappos has clearly established a very high standard for their  customer experience. They decided that because they cannot achieve this standard in Canada they must change their operating procedure to ensure the integrity of their brand promise is not compromised.

They are still willing to provide service to their Canadian customers — but now they will be served as international customers, according to international standards.

They explained their reasoning clearly and without apology — making sure that it was understood that it was their service promise to “deliver WOW through service” that was potentially being compromised — which they weren’t prepared to do.

Based on a survey of 1 — the person who informed me of this change — their service was historically very good (good selection, shipping in 2-3 days) and they were more than happy with that service level. However, they were even more impressed that Zappos took the position they did. They plan to still shop at Zappos.com (with more selection and maybe longer shipping) and are fine with the international standards.

As a result of the way Zappos handled this transition, customer loyalty was increased — even while the service level was decreased.

Zappos remained true to their core values. Honesty. Commitment to core values. Key building blocks in building strong loyal customer relationships.

Bravo Zappos. You “delivered a WOW through service” even in this circumstance.

Words are very powerful — whether written or verbal — and can leave a lasting impression in a customer’s mind. So it’s essential that words are carefully chosen because once used, they can’t be taken back and the effects can either be positive or negative. Negative words can be damaging to your business and may cause you to lose customers as a result.

A reader recently shared examples of 2 different hotels visits and pointed out these differences.

A Hotel in Hong Kong offers guests a number of items in the event that they forgot to pack them for their trip. They provide a written message to advise guests about the products they have available.

This is what it said…

Should you need any other amenities, don’t hesitate to call our Solutions Centre. Just press “0” on your phone. Items include: hair kit, sewing kit, nail kit, dental care, mouth wash, shoe mitt and razor kit.

A cold, impersonal message that wasn’t very appealing. The reader was grateful they had everything they needed in their luggage.

However, 2 weeks later, the same reader was in Dubai, India staying at a different hotel. The hotel left a small note on the bedside table.

This note said…

WITH COMPLIMENTS: If you need any essential toiletries, please contact our receptionist. We will be more than happy to deliver them to your room with our compliments. Available items include: razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, cotton wool and feminine hygiene products. Welcome home.

Same basic offer — but delivered in a different tone.

The reader really felt better about staying at that second hotel and made a point of keeping that hotel (and chain) in mind when booking future travel — unlike the Hong Kong hotel.

My Perspective: Wow! What a difference a few well chosen words can make to a guest.

By the simple choice of different words, the hotel in Dubai communicated they cared more about the overall customer experience than the Hong Kong hotel.

While this was a specific example of a hotel, the same formula can be applied to any situation where words are used. When dealing with customers, written word and verbal words are used extensively and often employees write or speak before putting their brain in gear.

Any written content on a company website, in a brochure or any other written material should be well thought out before being used. Does it say what you really want said or can the message be taken in a negative light? If you have to send memos, emails or physical letters to customers, employees or other companies, have you thought about how those messages will be received?

All words have mood and meaning and every word matters when it involves customers or employees in any way.

From your customer’s perspective, which words and phrases are helpful, positive, respectful and appreciative? Which words have negative connotations?

Review all your written material to ensure you only use positive, powerful words. Plus, coach your team to use positive words when dealing with your customers.