Create More Customers

In an earlier post,  How Do I Improve My Customer Service?, I suggested that the answer lies in looking at your website from your customer's perspective.  It's the only viewpoint that really matters.

I recently had  an offline experience that's worth describing to you:

A Personal Story

About a year ago, I installed new maple kitchen cabinets in my house. The company was professional, they showed up on time, the workmanship was superior and I was very pleased. The cabinets looked like fine furniture.

In November, I noticed that the finish began developing blemishes in some areas. In California, finishes need to be water-based rather than oil-based to protect the environment, a good thing. Unfortunately, most water-based finishes are just not as durable and long-lasting as the oil-based ones. At the time of installation, it had been raining pretty steadily, and I thought that maybe the finish hadn't dried sufficiently.

I called the company, they sent someone out and agreed that the cabinets needed to be repaired.  The worker took one of the cabinet doors with him to show to his supervisor and told me that I would be called later that day.

By the end of the next day, no one had called, so I called and left a message. After calling each day for 4 days, someone finally returned my call and told me that new cabinet doors were being made.

A week later I called to check on the status of the repair. Guess what? No return call. I waited 3 days and left a voicemail for the owner, thinking surely he would call back and apologize. No dice.

Then I received a call setting up an appointment for installation, which was great. No one showed up.

I then called my sales rep who I hadn't spoken to in a year. He said that he would get to the bottom of it and call me back. He did call and told me that no one was returning his calls either. ( Now, this is a guy who had been with the company for over 10 years and was their top salesman bringing in over $15 million in sales during that time).

A couple of days later, the rep called to say that the company had closed its doors and they still wouldn't talk to him. At this point, all I wanted was my original cabinet door back. He said not to worry, he had contacts and could get another one made if necessary.

Keep in mind, he had suddenly lost his job, didn't know if he would receive his commision checks and really didn't  have any obligation to me at this point. He had his own problems to worry about.

End of story- a few days later, on his way to file a grievance with the Labor Board, the sales rep stopped by the shuttered business and prevailed upon a security guard to look for my  cabinet door. He found it, called me and I got my door back.

I was so impressed that even after he told me that he was getting out of the remodeling business after 18 years, I told him, "Whatever you get into next, if you think I might be a potential client, please call me."

Sometimes, the only difference between you and your competitor, is customer service. My earlier post on customer service offers several examples of things you can do on your website to separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

What are some of your own experiences of outstanding customer service, both online and offline?  Please comment below.

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We all have our own ideas of what constitutes great customer service. But I think we can each agree that it means taking that extra step, doing something unexpected that makes us feel like a valued person.

 
A Personal Story
A few months ago, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. I called this very highly rated restaurant in Beverly Hills to make a reservation. The gentleman answered the phone with, "Thank you for calling Mastro's. How may we be of the greatest service to you?" When I told him that I was making reservations for our anniversary, he said, "What a tremendous compliment that you've chosen our restaurant to celebrate this special occasion." My first thought was, "That's nice, but come on, let's get real."

To make a long story short, one of the items we ordered was the "Seafood Tower." You can add lobster tail, shrimp, crab, oysters, etc. to it. Well, they left out one of the items and I pointed it out to the waitress. I didn't think that much about it. I just figured they would bring it out on a separate plate. Well, not only did she apologize, the maitre d' apologized, and the chef came over to apologize.  They brought the missing item (I don't even remember what it was), and deducted it from the final bill. Needless to say, I was impressed and did in fact feel like a very valued person.

How can we translate this attitude, this feeling, to our own website, where we probably have very little personal interaction with our visitor?

 
Look at your website from your client's perspective.
What are their worries, their anxieties? At what point do these concerns present themselves along the purchase path?

 
To a new visitor, your business is a big unknown

• Are you reliable?
• Are there any hidden costs?
• Do you have multiple methods of payment?
• Are my transactions secure?
• Can I contact you?
• How quickly will you respond to my inquiries?
• What are your refund policies?
• What are your shipping policies?
• Can I track my shipment?
• What do other customers think of you?
• Can I purchase without registering first?
• Have you given me enough information to make a decision?
• Is your product description accurate?
• Will your autoresponder confirm my order and let me know when it has shipped?
• Is there an FAQ page that will answer most of questions?
• I s there a picture of you, so I know I'm dealing with a real person?

I'm going to stop here for right now, but I think you get the idea. Put yourself in your customer's shoes.

Your website needs to anticipate as many of their questions as possible, in advance, and then answer them in advance, on your webpages. If you're not sure what those questions might be, do a quick usability test. Pay 3 or 4 people from outside $40 or $50 each to spend a half hour on your website. Give them tasks to do. Ask them to purchase something and record their comments.

I guarantee that you'll be surprised at how many of your visitor's questions and concerns have been overlooked. And if you have answered everything in advance, more power to you.