I fired the family
dentist we had used for the last 10 years. Why would I quit doing business
with someone after 10 years? Simple. My dentist quit caring about me.
I used this dentist
because he came highly recommended for his quality of work. But way beyond
that quality I was amazed and impressed by the level of patient care he
delivered. He did many small things that set him apart from others and made me
feel as if he truly appreciated my business.
For instance, he sent a
welcome gift after our first visit. With every person we referred, we received
a small thank-you gift. After every office visit he would call that evening to
see how we were feeling. It should come as no surprise that he offered a 100
percent satisfaction guarantee. If for some reason we weren’t satisfied with
the work he did, he would rectify the situation at no charge.
He was the model of what
every business should be. With the possible exception of his 100 percent
guarantee, the many small things he did to go the extra mile didn’t really
cost a lot of money. But the message he sent to us with those efforts was
invaluable.
He was not the least
expensive dentist in town, but that didn’t matter because the value he
provided was worth every penny I paid.
But somewhere along the
way he developed a “dis-ease” called complacency. It appears he quit caring
about his customers. No longer is his work 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed
at no additional charge. No longer does he call us after an office visit to
see how we are doing. No longer does he thank us for referrals. We no longer
felt as if he valued or appreciated our business.
I can only presume that
he must have forgotten an important aspect of customer loyalty--creating a
long-term plan to keep those customers that he worked so hard to create that
relationship.
Every year most utilities
set up annual goals and budgets for maintenance, safety, new construction,
labor, equipment and numerous other areas. Unfortunately, many fail to create
a budget or long-term plan for strengthening customer loyalty. Consider these
ideas in creating your long-term plan for customer loyalty:
Measure customer
service - Keeping a pulse on
customer satisfaction is not a one-time investment. In order to know if you
are providing a consistent and high quality level of service, you need to
continually ask your customers how are you doing. It is their perception that
matters, not yours.
Create a customer
satisfaction survey on your Web site. Allow customers to share suggestions on
ways you can improve your service. Set up a simple survey that customers can
complete at the conclusion of a telephone call. It is helpful to know what
customers think about their most recent experience with the utility.
Create a long-term plan
to keep a pulse on customer service. Customer feedback can be an invaluable
tool for recognizing strengths and identifying opportunities for improvement.
It’s important to implement a process in which every customer comment or
complaint is addressed immediately. If a customer offers a compliment, share
it with the whole organization. It’s not often that a customer calls to say
how much they appreciate a utility’s service. And for staff that deals with
customers daily, compliments come few and far between. So share the good news.
When a customer
complains, someone with the authority to solve the problem should contact the
customer to make sure he or she understands the problem and has the resources
to create a solution.
In the last 12 months I
would guess that I have completed more than 50 comment cards for airlines,
restaurants, hotels, rental car companies and retail stores. Some of these
have been with a complaint and some with a compliment. I have not had one
company call either to thank me for the positive feedback or to further
understand my dissatisfaction.
I’ve often wondered what
companies do with those comment cards. I’m afraid they have been bitten by the
same “dis-ease” as my dentist.
Create a long-term plan
to handle unhappy customers and recognize those who care enough to say you are
doing a good job. Either scenario
enhances the groundwork for stronger customer relationships.
Invest in your staff.
Many companies make a substantial investment in technology every year just to
keep on the cutting edge to provide service to their customers. While this
investment may certainly be necessary, don’t overlook the immense opportunity
to provide service to your customers through your staff. Provide all of your
employees with the skills to create a great customer service experience with
every customer interaction. Give employees the skills to diffuse customers who
are upset, angry or frustrated and turn those people into loyal customers.
Skill development
requires more than an annual or biennial investment. Create a long-term plan
to provide ongoing skill development for all of your employees on a regular
basis. A long-term plan to improve customer loyalty continually will separate
you from the rest. Don’t let complacency set in. Your customers are one of
your most valued assets. Every customer counts, every single time.
