MENU Hustling for Customer Experience
Welcome to the third installment in our series of business lessons learned in unconventional places.
Definition: Customer experience (CX) is everything related to a business that affects a customer’s perception and feelings about it.
I was moving my pool table recently and a leg broke, so I needed it repaired. I called a vendor with a long list of glowing customer testimonials. After a brief positive conversation, we agreed on a price and I hired them. Then I was handed off from sales to the repair person, which is often an interesting transition. Let me describe what happened next.
- The repair person called and said he’d be there on Tuesday between noon and 2:00 PM. My expectations were low; with other companies that means any time between 8AM Tuesday and midnight Friday. When I got a follow up call Tuesday at 11:00 AM I was thinking “here we go”, but he just wanted to let me know he’d be there between 12:30-1:00. Nice. Then I got a text at 12:15 that he said he’d be there at 12:50, which was exactly when he arrived. One of the things I teach in seminars is the importance of feed forward- keeping customers informed to help manage their expectations. This guy was off to a great start.
- He took the table apart, repaired the leg, and was about to re-stretch the felt. He wanted to confirm that I didn’t order new felt. I made the rookie mistake of asking “why, do you think I need it?”, wincing as I set myself up for the hard sell. Instead, he asked questions about the table and the existing felt and concluded new felt wasn’t necessary. I really appreciated that.
- Once the table was rebuilt he had me test it to ensure it was perfectly level, and it was. Excellent work all around, leading to my favorite part of the story.
- As we were walking out, I picked up my wallet to reach for a well-earned tip. He stopped me and said “You don’t need to tip me; let’s let my boss do it.” I looked confused, so he explained “My boss gives us a share of the revenue whenever a customer posts a review online and rates us 5 out of 5. If you were really happy with our service, then please do that- and we both win.” I agreed, saved my money, and took two minutes to post a review. (This was a “moment of truth.”)
It didn’t hit me until later that the very thing that drew me to this company was the list of reviews that I had just added to; it fed on itself and generated new business. That company “gets it.”
Have you instilled the mindset in your employees that they win if the customers win? If not, why should they go the extra mile for them?
Have you thought about things from the customer perspective, making sure all their interactions with your organization are positive?
If not, your company might soon find itself behind the 8-ball.
Check out the rest of the series on Unexpected Sources of Business Education: