The most successful businesses are always looking for ways to serve the customer more than they expect. Nothing surprises a consumer more than when the person helping them goes the extra mile on their behalf. Now, more than ever, companies, businesses and retail outlets understand they must deliver the "feel good factor" their customers long to experience.
Late yesterday morning my friend and I stopped for a beverage at the neighborhood Dresher coffee shop. The store was filled with people waiting to give their order to the person behind the counter. We were lucky enough to have arrived before the onslaught and were already waiting for our coffees. I’m willing to guess that not one person in that line wasn’t in a rush! However, it didn't take long before I discovered my friend was about to hold up the line and lengthen our stay with a special request. As an aside, I have always been especially aware of the difficulties service people face when a line of impatient and unhappy people starts to form, having worked in retail as a teen and young adult.
Oblivious to the people waiting, she began to ask the server how he was making her latte. She was prepared to stop at nothing to have it the way she wanted it. What followed shocked and surprised me. The person behind the counter was actually keenly interested in preparing the sort of refreshment she desired and whether or not it was to her liking! “Try this and if it doesn’t taste right, I’ll make you another one.” The server smiled. I glanced nervously at the woman waiting behind us and she also looked amazed. Maybe it was because neither of us ever dreamed of giving instructions to a coffee server on how to make a cup of Joe, or perhaps we were just floored that someone actually cared enough to slow down and listen to a person’s needs. At this point we were enrapt! She tasted her drink, “It needs to be a little thicker, I think.” The person behind the counter seemed to understand exactly what she meant and took to transforming my friend’s pick-me-up into the latte of her dreams.
What happened was delightful, what happened was unexpected, what happened between my friend and the server and anyone else in earshot is one of the most important aspects of customer service, the “feel good factor”. Here the goal is not only to help the customer have a good experience, but to offer them an experience that exceeds their expectations. It makes perfect sense when you realize that only the most delighted customers buy more or become advocates, and only the most disappointed customers leave. Do you remember the last time you were a “most delighted customer” at any one of our local establishments? As they say, there are a “million naked (consumer) stories in this town”, please take a few minutes to tell us one of yours.
Here are the correct answers to last week’s contest to match food markets with their special brand of customer service. No one got it right!!!
Acme Food Market: workers take time to say hello when shoppers enter and make themselves available for questions or help (d).
Genuardi’s: has remained non-union, despite heavy unionization in their other chains (f).
Giant: employs nearly 37,000 associates to serve a six state market area (g).
Dreshertown Shop N’ Bag: managers understand that loyal employees make loyal customers. Most of their staff stay on for years (a).
Trader Joe’s: grocers notify each other via a bell system to communicate with the team rather than an intrusive intercom system that might distract their customers (b).
Whole Foods: will take food right off the shelf so customers can taste it (c).
Wegman’s: employees become well-versed in the art of satisfying customers (e).
No comments:
Post a Comment