April 2006

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2006</I></div> <div> <I>The following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 5 April 2006</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thanks for the memories</B></div> <bR> <div> When was the last time a customer took the time and trouble to thank you or a member of your team for providing excellent service? If it's been a while, it's not a reason to start worrying just yet, because even if you do give good service only one in ten happy customers will ever make the effort to let you know about it.  More concerning is the fact that only one in twenty people with a complaint will tell you.  That's an awful lot of problems lurking out there about which you could know nothing.</div> <bR> <div> There are some well-known statistics about why customers leave - and understanding them might help to increase the chances of receiving more bouquets than brickbats in the future.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">9 % leave because of the competition</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">9 % leave because they moved somewhere else</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">14 % leave because of complaints not solved</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">68 % leave for … no special reason - other than perceived indifference from the businesses they deal with.</div> <bR> <div> Doing a good job of resolving customers' problems is, ironically, one of the most powerful ways in which to generate customer loyalty. Most people accept that mistakes will sometimes be made, but it's how you and your team deal with them that matters. Go the extra mile and make sure that every reason for the complaint has been dealt with promptly and competently and you're likely to have a customer who will remember that result longer and more favourably than had you provided faultless service in the first place. So, if that deals with the 14 percent of customers who leave because of unsolved problems, what do we do about the 68 percent who think we don't care?</div> <bR> <div> Above all, customers want to know that you'll do what you say you're going to do - every time.  I don't think that most people expect miracles, but if you promise miracles, you'd better deliver them!  I frequently hear people commit, for example, to get back to a customer by the end of the day and then fail to do so.  I'm sure that, usually, the motive for promising a fast response is worthy but it may well not be realistic.  Wouldn't it be better to tell the customer that you'll get back to them within three days (assuming that you are confident that you will have the information they need by then) and then deliver on your promise, rather than guarantee `close of play' and then let them down?  Better still, promise three days and then contact them in two.  Julian Richer, the entrepreneurial young founder of Richer Sounds, a highly successful hi-fi retailing business which is praised regularly for its outstanding customer service, has as one of his 10 Customer Service Commandments: `Under promise and over deliver'.   </div> <bR> <div> Finally, seek feedback.  Although it's always very nice to receive unsolicited thanks from satisfied customers, don't just wait for it to happen.  Knowing what your customers think about your business is vital to serving them better in the future.  So use a variety of ways to ask them about their satisfaction with your service and their suggestions for improvement.  Do whatever it takes to resolve the problems that do occur.  And, quite simply, build your reputation on being a business that does <U>what</U> it says it will do, <U>when</U> it says it will do it.  No one can call that indifference.  Those will be memories your customers will thank you for.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>