For working parents, Saturday mornings are often the time to run errands. Many times, they run those errands accompanied by their young children. Taking kids in and out of car seats to make quick stops at the dry cleaners, bank, or pharmacy can be exhausting. Kids get tired and bored and parents lose their patience creating unpleasant scenes in businesses. As a business owner, you can do a few simple things to make your business more kid friendly. Is your business “kid friendly”? Busy working parents trying to get a slew of errands crammed into a short weekend, with kids in tow,...
I am the CEO of Peoplocity. We help businesses hear directly from their customers, privately. Consumers use a mobile app to share feedback and resolve issues in real time. We like to say that we use technology to connect consumers with businesses to improve the customer experience. At Peoplocity, if a business is not yet a partner and they receive a message, we get the message to them and work to resolve issues. So, I was shocked by how badly a large national restaurant chain, and its local management mishandled a recent customer complaint. The customer is a well-respected community leader. His message was “It...
My niece and her roommates ran into a serious case of landlord M.I.A this winter. Half the rooms of their house were not getting any heat. Despite multiple email requests to the management company it was more than one month before the owner finally came to inspect the home and resolve the issue. Upon arrival, the landlord was shocked by the temperature. He was also extremely embarrassed of the entire situation. By failing to respond promptly, he let his customers reside in an unsafe environment. Putting his ethics and company into question and possibly left himself open to legal issues. His...
Sometimes a restaurant just gets how to create a great customer experience and you want to dance through the entire building with glee. Capri Lounge, a local Indianapolis Italian restaurant recently provoked this feeling for me and released my inner Frank Sinatra. I went to the restaurant with a few friends for some good Italian food and an evening of catching up. The comfortable atmosphere made us feel immediately at home, but the service stole the show. Our waitress did more than just take our order and deliver it to the table. She found little ways to make our experience even...
How long are you willing to wait for a cup of coffee? I would bet no longer than five minutes. More than that and your foot is tapping impatiently as you wait for your first sip of caffeine. I was recently the impatient foot-tapping customer at a local coffee shop. I’d gone to the shop a few times with very positive experiences, so I wanted to share it with my friends. We walked in the door to an untamed and poorly organized day at the coffee shop. Two of my friends received their orders, while the rest of us sat...
Getting and responding to feedback should be a big part of your customer service routine. Let people know how to get in touch with you, and make it easy for them to use those channels. Respond quickly and efficiently.
