Imagine how frustrated I must have been to recently write a four page letter to Richard Parsons, President of Time Warner!  I don’t expect to get much of a response, but the satisfaction of letting off steam was therapeutic.    Time Warner, in my opinion, has set a new standard for “underwhelming” customer service.

Here’s where Time Warner really blew it – instead of taking a proactive role with the problems we experienced, virtually every person I spoke with chose to blame the problem on somebody else.  Nobody wanted to simply solve the problems!   One promise after another was broken as a week went by with at least a dozen different customer service people involved – Time Warner is so big that you can’t seem to talk to the same person twice.

Think about all the choices consumers have today and especially your clients.  If you’re not taking an aggressive role to exceed every client’s expectations then you’re missing a serious opportunity to grow your business.   Here are four simple tips to help make you a star:

  • Fast response time: When somebody contacts you, how quickly do they hear back from you?
  • When they do hear back do they get a custom response or a form letter/email?  Custom responses will always score higher and a personal phone call will really go a long way.
  • Does your website provide a way for a client to call you directly?  We’re all bored with responses that lack any personality or originality.  Give your clients a way to talk to you personally.
  • When you have a screamer, is your initial intent to duck the problem or do you tackle it immediately?  The most disarming approach to any unhappy client is to be proactive.  Sure, there are some people you can never make happy, but when you know they’re upset, there’s nothing that beats a direct phone call with an opening greeting of “I understand you have some concerns, how can I help?” 

Think about the retailers where you enjoy shopping.  What are the ingredients making you want to spend your money at one store, but not another?   Pay attention to how you’re treated, the presentation of the products you shop for and the attitude of the sales staff.   At those stores where you love to shop you’ll find a common formula for success to apply to your own business.

These days it’s as much about the service you provide as it is being competitive in your pricing and products offered, but great service will win out every time!  Tony Corbell talks about his attitude when he first started as a professional photographer, “I may not have been the best photographer in town, but I was determined to be the nicest!”

There are dozens of ways to stand out, not just in customer service, but in community involvement, presentations, your website, newsletter, special events and the list goes on and on.  We’ll be talking about all of these and more at Skip’s Summer School. 

See you in Vegas!