business

Are You Really Listening to Your Customers?

When you travel you get the best chance to observe good customer service firsthand. A hotel is your home away from home, and you have many places to choose from. It’s the customer service that makes the difference between a great experience or a lousy one. So, on my recent trip to NY I got to see some of both.

Listening to your customers

I got to the hotel quite late and was just ready to get to sleep. I quickly found out that the heat had two settings, boiling hot or freezing cold. There was a draft so bad it blew the curtains. And the heating system was so noisy I couldn’t even hear the TV. When I checked in, the only thing I asked for was a quiet room with temperature control. I didn’t care if it was the size of a closet with no frills.

An employee came up to see if he could fix the heat and said he would have to call the maintenance guy in the morning. Really? So, I would have to freeze all night? They offered me a free breakfast and a foot rub to make up for it. Okay, so they didn’t offer a foot rub, but a free breakfast wouldn’t save me from hyperthermia and lack of sleep. They finally moved me to a bigger room which was slightly better, but still very noisy. The whole time I was there I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. No warmth or friendliness. And they definitely weren’t listening. I couldn’t help thinking that the place could have been run better by robots. [Read more…] about Are You Really Listening to Your Customers?

Are You Creating Loyal Customers?

customer loyalty

I would be willing to bet that most people are creatures of habit. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because when we find companies we like we tend to stick with them. That could be a brand of clothing or a type of car or the restaurants we frequent. And we usually tend to stick to our own neighborhood restaurants for various reasons.

So, when I found out one of my favorite restaurants had gone out of business, it was sad. This is where I spent many Thanksgivings and Christmases enjoying the holiday special of turkey and pumpkin pie. They were always creating loyal customers.

I went through the restaurant reviews and found out that I wasn’t the only one that felt that way. In fact, some of the reviews were quite interesting. [Read more…] about Are You Creating Loyal Customers?

Honesty in Business

On the way to walk the dogs today I dropped some money in the elevator. I was already at the end of the street when my neighbor chased me down to return it. She could have taken it. No one would have known. But that simple act of honesty really made my day. I already think highly of this new neighbor and will go out of my way to help her if she needs it.

Honesty in business

The same thing happened again the other day when I went to have a workbook printed at a small print shop in the neighborhood. The owner gave me a quote a couple of weeks earlier based on a printed sample I showed him. But when I sent it in on disk it turns out it was much cheaper than the previous quote.

He charged me the cheaper rate, but I really wouldn’t have known otherwise if he hadn’t been honest about it. I’m certainly not a big customer, but after that I will be a loyal one. And that’s one of the best reasons to be totally honest with your customers. They will appreciate it and remember it. They will also be more likely to spread the good word about your business either through referrals or testimonials. Create honesty in business. [Read more…] about Honesty in Business