What Makes Exceptional Service?


Ken Blanchard is the author of Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service. Here's what he has to say on the subject of service:

"This is my advice for everyone in business today: If you're going to put your energy into being the best at something, make sure that it's serving your customers. You can't just satisfy customers today, you've got to blow them away. You've got to create raving fans—customers who are so excited about what you do for them that they want to brag about you. When that happens, customers virtually become part of your sales force.

"I became a raving fan of a Marriott hotel in Orlando just recently. Why? Because of a wake-up call. If you've stayed in a hotel lately, you know that the most common wake-up call you get is when the phone rings, you pick it up and there's nothing there. The second most common wake up call is when the phone rings and you get a recording that says, 'This is your wake-up call.' Not very customer-friendly.

"When I was at the Marriott, however, the phone rang and a real human being said, 'Good morning, Dr. Blanchard. It's 7 a.m. It's going to be 75 degrees and beautiful in Orlando today. But I see that you're checking out this afternoon. Where are you going?'

"`New York City,' I answered.

"`Well, I have a USA Today weather map here and it says it's going to be 40 degrees and rainy in New York today. Are you sure you can't stay in Orlando another day?'

"I did have to fly to New York that day, but you can bet the next time I go to Orlando I'm going to stay at the Marriott, just so I can speak to Theresa in the morning!

"Here's another example of exceptional service, and it comes from a store that is famous for making raving fans. A friend of mine went into Nordstrom's to buy some perfume for his wife. The woman behind the counter said, 'We don't sell that perfume here, but I know where you can get it.' Then she asked my friend how long he would be in the mall. He said another half-hour. She said, 'Fine. Come back in half-an-hour.'

"When he came back, he found that the saleswoman had gone to another store in the mall, bought the perfume, brought it back to Nordstrom's, and had it waiting for him—gift-wrapped. She only charged him what the perfume had cost. So Nordstrom's didn't make a dime on that sale—but they made a customer for life.

"Remember that there is only one thing your competition can't steal from you. They can steal your price, they can steal the quality of your product. The only thing they can't steal is the relationship your people have with your customers. That must always be your number one priority."

It is the willingness of people to give of themselves over and above the demands of the job that distinguishes the great from the merely adequate organization.

—Peter Drucker,
writer and management consultant

Why is it that these examples of service seem so unusual? Unfortunately, it's because many businesses have forgotten the importance of customer service. They've forgotten that they wouldn't have a business at all without their customers. Common sense and common courtesy have taken a beating in the 20th century, but they're making a comeback in the 21st. Customers now have a choice of shopping anywhere in the world, without even leaving their homes. So if you want your business to be their choice, you have to give them good reason. And there is no better reason than good service.

The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.

—Henry Ford,
industrialist




Diamond Power. Gems of Wisdom From America's Greatest Marketer
Diamond Power: Gems of Wisdom from Americas Greatest Marketer
ISBN: 1564146987
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 207
Authors: Barry Farber

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