10/19/15
Have you ever been irritated by a business that has a special offer available only to new customers? It is especially bothersome when the result is that the new customer is getting a better deal than than the current one. What a way to reward those who are loyal customers of a business! “New customer only” offers feel like a punishment to the loyal customers who have been frequenting a business for quite some time. Recently I was at an event and saw a lady behind a table calling, “Free umbrellas!” I could always use a new umbrella, so I ran right over. Well come...
10/15/15
I was at my pharmacy recently when I witnessed a great customer service experience! Watching the situation unfold reminded me of basic but critically important customer service skills I emphasize with my touch point employees. An elderly woman struggled to walk into the pharmacy and make her way to the pick up window, right in front of me. She thought she had a prescription filled and waiting for her. As it turned out, there was no prescription waiting. The pharmacy tech looked in several places for the prescription, including the online system, but didn’t find anything ready for the woman....
09/20/15
All too often, it’s the bad customer service experiences that stick in our memory. This makes it seem like quality service is hard to come by, when in reality there are many businesses out there doing a great job. We just don’t talk about them as much. Positive experiences deserve just as much recognition; sharing positive customer experiences provides businesses with valuable feedback, and provides potential customers some insight as to what they can expect when interacting with the business. Recently I had a great customer service experience with FitBit that I’d like to share. I got a FitBit Charge...
09/16/15
Why does The Container Store pay its 6,000 employees an average of $48,000 a year, more than double the average for retail sales worker? According to CEO Kip Tindell’s recent book, Uncontainable, the company gets a huge return–highly satisfied employees that are three times more productive and a turnover rate of less than 10% compared to a whopping 75% industry average. We all know that turnover is expensive. Hiring and training drain resources and lower productivity. Happier touchpoint employees give consistently great service. Customers who are delighted by happy and engaged employees will return and spend more money. Tindall is...
08/19/15
It’s no secret that managing a business travel program today is about much more than just containing costs. Successful programs balance policies to achieve improved traveler productivity and satisfaction in addition to achieving high levels of compliance and cost reduction. Businesses with travel programs of any size can get helpful insights from the 2015 Business Travel Survey released by Travizon. The results identify specific areas that can improve the travel experience, increase productivity and add to the satisfaction and retention of your business travelers. Survey results were broken out by age group, frequency of travel as well as by status...
08/11/15
Everyone talks about Nordstrom extraordinary service. Are the extraordinary deeds the stuff or myth? I had a chance to see for myself not too long ago. A friend recently told me about an experience he had at the mall. His shoes hurt his feet so we stopped into the shoe department at Nordstrom. He struck up a conversation with the sales clerk, explaining the Cole Hann shoes he was wearing seemed too tight. On the spot, the clerk offered to swap the shoes out for a larger pair even though he confessed he had not purchased the shoes from Nordstrom originally. The...
07/29/15
We recently received feedback from one of our members about a local business that provides indoor activities for children. The feedback provided great insight into the member’s disappointing experience at the business. Staff members were disinterested and obviously didn’t want to be there. They talked within ear shot of guests of their desire to leave. The food choices were poor and staff struggled with simple things like getting a hot dog order prepared. Smiling at customers was clearly not in the job description. A few days later, we received a follow up message from the same member about the same business after...
07/23/15
A good friend of mine is a Graze junkie. If you aren’t familiar with the product, Graze.com is a delivery snack company. Their tasty personalized snacks appear in her mailbox weekly, biweekly or monthly and contain 4-8 snacks based on her preferences. In addition to her addiction to their Pecan Power sampler, the quality which makes Graze.com the one of her favorite companies is their dedication to their customers. Graze makes the snacks and gives the rest of the power to the customers. Each box is full of personal touches from a company who is listening to your thoughts and...
07/12/15
My business partner recently needed to get a refund from an airline. She didn’t cancel the flight, they did. After making numerous calls, to numerous people, repeating the story over and over, I questioned whether it was worth the hours and aggregation. Although she was hornets-nest irritated, for $1600, she assured me, she would fight until she was reimbursed. It took hours of explaining and holding, and 6 months to get the refund. Did you know that resolving a problem takes an average of three attempts with 69% of consumers reporting their complaint multiple times before it is resolved? Should be...
06/15/15
How do you feel when you see Comcast offering service to new customers for half of what you, as an existing customer, are paying? Like many businesses, they spend a lot of time, money and effort to get new customers, and very little on customer retention. There are huge rewards in paying attention to the customers you have and it is very expensive to neglect them. Consider these powerful statistics: It costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one Existing customers spend on average, twice as much as new customers A 5...
