Customer Service

Have you ever been to Walt Disney World or Disneyland Paris?

We took our children to Disneyland Paris a few years ago – it was fantastic!

From the moment we entered the park we had a�superior customer experience.

Disney makes a massive effort to ensure everyone loves their visit. �The effort stems from the philosophy of their founder who said:

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.

Walt Disney

But creating a superior customer experience isn’t just something for large companies like Disney.

It’s something that you can do to grow your own small business.

Follow these four steps and you’ll wow your customers, build a great reputation for service and gain more customer referrals.

 

1. Set an�Achievable�Standard

Disney set a very high standard for customer experience. �Employees are proactive in being welcoming and friendly with visitors and looking out for those that need help.

They set a standard that they are able to meet again and again.

You have to set a target for customer experience that you can achieve consistently. �If you set too high a standard you’ll only reach it some of the time.

You’ll have some very happy customers but also some very disgruntled customers.

Don’t make the mistake of trying to exceed customer expectations. �If you order a new small car like a Mini from a dealership you don’t expect them to exceed the expectation and deliver a Rolls Royce do you?

Just ensure that every customer gets the most superior experience you can offer. �Set a realistic expectation and meet it.

If you find you are consistently meeting your standard you can raise it. �As Walt Disney said:

Do your best work – then try to trump it.

Walt Disney

Top Tip: Talk with anyone else involved in your small business. �Decide on an achievable standard and write it down so that everyone can keep a copy. �You might decide that you want all phone calls answered within three rings, to respond to new leads on the day you get them and always have someone welcoming at your reception desk.

 

2. Share the Work of Creating a Customer Experience

At Disneyland every employee is a “cast member”. �They all play an important role in creating the customer experience.

In your business everyone has to take responsibility for hitting the standard that you set. �Anyone thinking it’s “not their job” is a risk to the consistency of your customer experience.

It’s also important to remember that employees are like children. �They see and hear everything you do and learn from it. �You need to ensure that you set a consistent example for everyone to follow.

As management expert Tom Peters’ said:

It�s not what your people do when you�re there, it�s what they do when you�re not there that counts.

Tom Peters

Top Tip: �Sit with each employee in your small business and help them understand the part they play in creating a superior customer experience. �If you work on your own create a list of the important things you need to do each day to keep the standard you’ve set. �For example sending hand-written thank you cards to each new customer, and always being welcoming when you answer the phone.

 

3. Measure Results

In order to create a superior customer experience like Disney you have to�ensure you are meeting the standard you set.

The first way to do this is to measure results.

Create a small number of measurements that you can monitor regularly.

If you set a standard of answering calls within three rings, measure to see if you are hitting the standard. �If you aim to respond to all leads on the same day that they are�received�measure how effective you are in doing so.

Also monitor the number of complaints you receive, the number of refunds given and returns received. �All of these measurements are important for customer experience.

Top Tip: Share the measurement�publicly�with everyone in your business and update them regularly. �Reward those who make extra effort to help you provide superior customer experience. �Try eating lunch once a month with the employee who has contributed most to the measurements and customer experience. �It’s not only a great public acknowledgement of their effort but is a great opportunity to discuss new ideas for improvements.

 

4. Get Feedback

The second way to ensure you are wowing your customers like Walt Disney is to get feedback from your customers.

You can do this formally through a survey but this can often be perceived as wasting customer’s time. �Who likes getting phone calls or emails with lots of questions?

Make gaining feedback part of every conversation you have with your customers.

Top Tip: During conversations ask for feedback on their experience with your business, what do they appreciate about dealing with you, what would they change and are there areas in which you can improve? �Train you employees to gather this feedback and regularly review it with them and create action points.

 

The Bottom Line

Do you want your customers to think “wow” when they deal with your business?

If you want to create a superior customer experience like Disney you have to be proactive.

As Walt Disney said:

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Walt Disney

He knew his philosophy would take massive effort but would bring amazing results.

Follow the steps above and you’ll have your customers returning again and bringing their friends, families and contacts.

What are your thoughts on superior customer experience? �Please share them with me in the comments.

Photo Credit: Loren Javier

Disgruntled customers are great!

Deal with them well and win real fans for your business.

But, deal with them badly and they�ll do you a lot of damage.

 

The customer isn�t always right!

 

Ever heard �the customer is always right!�?

It�s not true.

Customers often do things wrong.

• Handle the product incorrectly
• Order the wrong item
• Don’t follow the instructions
• Order late,�etc.

But not always.

Often they do everything right, and still get bad customer service.

The truth is, as your business grows problems occur, often outside of your control.

You can’t stop problems�occurring.

But you can take responsibility to get them resolved.

 

It�s not about right and wrong

 

Start with a “I’m right, you’re wrong” attitude and you’ll fail.

You won�t win fans.

Put emotion aside, it�s about getting the customer to a point where he wants to tell everyone how wonderful you are.

 

A dog with a bone

 

I confess to being strange.

When I had a corporate job I loved dealing with disgruntled customers.

I was like a dog with a bone.

Not because I like the hassle – because I like the transformation.

I like to see the customer walk away with a smile on his face, knowing that he�s going to be a life long fan.

These are the steps that I always followed:

 

Step #1: Slow The Conversation

 

Disgruntled customers tend to be annoyed, irritated and impatient.

Take some pace out of the conversation. �Be�reassuring.

I completely understand, and I want to help you. Let�s take a few moments to go through the details so I can see exactly what we can do to help.

Don�t be patronising and don�t make promises, take time to calm the customer and get the facts.

The time to review what happened and how to prevent it for the future is after the customer has been satisfied.

Give the customer your undivided attention, this is your chance to show them that you are serious about helping.

 

Step #2: Get The Facts

 

Get a clean piece of paper or a note field in your computer and record all of the facts.

You don�t want to have to call the customer to check details, it shows that you weren�t giving him the full attention.

Explain that you are keen to get the facts recorded as soon as possible so you can focus on the resolution.

Record everything relevant, part numbers, descriptions, faults, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.

 

Step #3: Review The Costs

 

Depending on the type of business you have there may be costs involved in satisfying the customer.

• Supplying the correct product
• Redelivery
• Repairs
• Engineer visits
• Returning the wrong items,�etc.

At this point you�ll know if the issue was entirely of your causing, your supplier or the customer�s.

Try to resolve the issue as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

If you can resolve it with no cost to the customer, do it.

If there is a cost, for instance if the customer ordered the wrong item, then try to make it as painless as possible. �Give the customer a price for the replacement and arrange to get it delivered quickly.

The cost of solving this issue could be�minuscule�when compared to the damage a disgruntled customer could cause by talking to other people and�minuscule�compared to the value of his business with you as a life long fan.

If you tell the customer you�ll call in an hour, do it!

Show how good you are, how trustworthy, don�t make it worse by not keeping your promises.

 

Step #4: Take Action

 

Do whatever you need to do to solve the problem.

Do what�you’ve�promised.

If you have to wait for a supplier, delivery company, or member of staff, make sure that you stay on top of the issue.

This is your problem, you need to see it through until it�s solved. �If someone else promises to do something to help make sure they do it.

 

Step #5: Follow Up

 

Did the customer receive the item, did the engineer call, is everything solved, is he satisfied with the outcome, does he need you to do anything else to help with the issue?

Show the customer that you�re serious about wanting him to be satisfied. �If there is anything else required make a note of it, action it and follow up.

 

Step #6: Follow Up Again

 

Remember you’re not just after satisfaction, you want to make fans!

Leave it a week and give the customer another call.

Explain that you�re calling to make sure everything worked out well with the issue and if there is anything else you can help with.

Provide whatever help you can, thank the customer for his business and remind him that you are available to help him at any point in the future.

Ensure he has your contact details.

Now when that customer thinks about your business he�ll remember that you did everything you could do to help, he�ll know you kept your promises and he can trust you.

 

Do this, and keep doing it and you�ll build fans, customers who will come back time and time again for your products and services.

 

Want some help building fans for your business?

 

I’ll be showing you how to grow your small business and build fans with amazing customer service in several future posts. �Enter your email address below to be notified as soon as they are published.

Don�t worry you will only receive information to help grow your small business, I hate SPAM as much as you do.