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| Tamara Ackerman |
We all know what a huge impact customer service has on us as a consumer. Wether we are shopping for a product or a service, customer service plays a huge role on our experience at any business. This impact determines not only if we will return, but also what we say to our friends, family members, co-workers, and sometimes clients. If you think of how many people the average person knows, it is quite substantial. So if you can just imagine out of that list of people one individual knows, just how many they are in connection with immediately following either a positive or negative experience at a business. It is estimated to be an average of 50-60 people you know that you come in contact within a 24 hour timeframe. Now say you had 50 guests in your business within one business day. That equates to 2500 responses that may be generated from your business from either a positive experience or a negative one. WOW!!! That just shows you how CRUCIAL it is to make sure that every guest that walks through your door should be treated with the absolute best experience you have.
I was recently at two different business’ in one morning. The experience I had at each one was entirely different.
The first one, I was greeted very friendly when I walked in, with eye contact and a smile. They proceeded to walk me back to where my service was going to take place and ask me questions. Next, they took extra time to listen to me as i responded. That followed with the most perfect service I could have ever received there. I had assumed I would have a good experience, but this exceeded my expectations. They nailed this service. It was exactly what I truly was looking for and beyond what I was hoping for. I left the room to head back up to the reception area overjoyed with the outcome of the service. The front desk team member greeted me there once again with a smile, eye contact, and was so friendly as she scheduled my next appointment, and had me pay for my service. I felt as though they were sharing the happiness I was feeling with me. I walked out of this business so fulfilled and excited, I wanted to share it right away with my husband, and a close friend. I had so much joy that I was spreading it to everyone I walked by on the way to my car. Greeting each person with a "Good Morning" and wishing each of them to "Have A Great Day”! I drove away feeling great to the next errand I had for the day.
As I pulled up to my next place of business, my first encounter was with a coworker standing outside who actually didn’t greet me but rather just looked at me. You know, that look you get from someone as though they are thinking…ugh, someone is here, now what do they want. Only he said nothing. I then entered the front door. The man and woman working inside were talking amongst themselves. There were no words to me, nor did they look at me. I gathered the items I was there to get and proceeded to the checkout. One of the items I was purchasing is very costly, and so I asked the woman at the checkout if they ever go on sale. She said no. As she was bagging my purchases, I noticed a brochure on the counter with a special they were having, one of the items was the one item I just asked her about. Another one being a special on another item being purchased. Had I known, I would have purchased more than the one item. These are items we carry in my business and go through frequently. I asked her about the item I just asked her about going on sale ever, and she explained these were only for club members. I shop there for my business frequently, and not once have I been asked if I would like to sign up to be a club member. I then asked her what a club member is all about. She responded you need to purchase a punch card. I then asked, what the punch card does. Her response was “You receive monthly specials on products they have for sale, and for every $20 spent you get your card punched and after 20 punches you receive $20 off your order". My response to her, “WOW, Is this something i could purchase?” She said “Yes, any customer can!” I then said “I would like to purchase this now then please.” She then redid my whole order with the purchase of my club member card and gave me a new total, which had saved me 3 times the cost of my punch card. Had I not written my check out already, I would have bought more of these items. I was now out of time, and unable to re-shop at this point. I left feeling un welcomed, unvalued, and as though I was an inconvenience. My feeling of overjoy from leaving the first place became taken from an unsettling feeling now. I wanted to share with my husband, coworkers, friends, and anyone else I felt should know what just happened right away. At this point I wanted to share the extreme difference in the customer service experience received from the one place to another.
The value I received from the services I purchased and the customer service experience as a whole was more than I could have imagined. I could not wait to tell people I would come in contact with that day, and I did! I also, compared it to the not so pleasant experience I received from the second place that day. The next day at my networking group I told 30 more people during my commercial on customer service. That’s 60 people I actually told about these two places and the experiences I had in comparison. Can you imagine the effect this could have on both business’. Now, I did not say the name of these business' to everyone. The point was not to wish that a business be announced of any failures. The point was to announce the crucial impact your guests receive in your business and to have this be a reminder to always give your perfect effort. The perfect effort will matter. The perfect effort will make a difference. The perfect effort will grow your customer base and sales inside your business.
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