Today’s guest blogger is Rich Gallagher, author of the #1 customer service bestseller “What to Say to a Porcupine”, who has taught over 15,000 people what to say in their most difficult customer and workplace situations.
What if you had one simple rule – for you and your team – that would guarantee excellent service? I recently completed a new business fable (stay tuned!), with a charming story that was based around just such a rule. Here it is:
Treat every customer like they were your very last customer.
That’s it. No policy manuals. No committees. No balanced scorecards. Just one simple rule that clarifies all of your actions and all of your policies, now and in the future. A compass that will always point you on the shortest path toward success and profitability. And a guiding principle you can teach everyone on your team in less than five minutes.
Think about the last time a company said, “Sorry, we can’t help you,” even though you both knew better. Or a disengaged store clerk acted like she was a million miles away as she rang up your purchase. Or a restaurant that wouldn’t allow substitutions, or a credit card company with Byzantine and inflexible service policies. Did they treat you like you were their last customer? Or was this simply the last time they ever saw you as a customer?
You see, when you realize that your success depends on each and every person standing in front of you, physically or virtually, you learn to manage these moments of truth so that everyone wins. Think about scenarios like these:
It is the end of a long day, and a customer comes up to the counter. If he were potentially your very last customer, would you greet this person? Make eye contact? Thank him for coming? Call him by name once you see his credit card? Or would you treat him like you’re off in another zip code somewhere?
Your customer needs a little something extra: a special order, a rush delivery, or perhaps just a bit more of your time. If she were your very last customer, would you say “no” to her?
Someone has a complaint about your product or service. If he were your last customer, would you try to make him happy, or point him toward a thick policy manual and turn away?
You are looking for ways to save money and run more efficiently, and one of your managers suggests an onerous new return policy. Would you impose it on your very last customer?
In each of these situations, you don’t even have to think about what to do. Start seeing people as your last customers, and your gut will take over and tell you what’s right. This rule puts customers firmly in the driver’s seat, with an extremely simply choice: Treat them fairly and they will be back. Serve them well and they will lead other customers to you. Brush them off, and watch your entire business walk out the door forever.
The last customer rule even helps you set appropriate boundaries. If your very last customer were someone who harassed your employees or misused your return policies, would you still try to keep this customer? Not likely. By looking at everyone through the lens of being your last customer, you gain a laser-beam focus on what is really important to you, your team, and your business, and then draw those lines where they should be drawn.
Today’s reality is that we live in a world of connections. People tell their friends what they like, and statistically tell even more of them what they don’t like. And with the global reach of online social networks, they are just a mouse click away from praising or trashing you to thousands or even millions of people. This is why seeing them as your last customer is so important: with one person, you now have the power to attract an entire community, or shut down their whole network.
Start treating everyone like your last customer, starting tomorrow, and great service will not only become much more likely – it will become the “last” of your concerns. Good luck and best of success!
Rich Gallagher heads Point of Contact Group, a training and development firm serving customer contact environments. He is the author of eight books on customer service and communications skills, and has been dubbed “one of the founding fathers of modern customer support” by one of its leading professional societies. Visit him online at www.pointofcontactgroup.com.
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