Yesterday I was flying home and had a couple of hours stopping in Atlanta Airport and hit Phillip’s Seafood for lunch.  They screwed up my order, lost the ticket and finally after almost 30 minutes brought it out.  The waitress apologized and simply said, “We’re really sorry.  Lunch is on us.  They shouldn’t have lost your order.”   I finished lunch and on my way out, thanked her and simply said, “You guys may be the last customer service in America!”

Think about all the bad experiences you’ve had with customer service lately.  I don’t know about you, but Sheila and I are constantly amazed at the lack of attention given to good old customer service.  In terms of any business, it’s your greatest asset, yet time and time again, with major companies like Time Warner, ATT, Verizon etc.  we’re constantly reminded that our business just isn’t that important. 

The good news is they make it so easy for all of us in photography to look good.  They help to remind us how far that extra step with a customer will really go.  Your customers are your greatest asset.   If you can always stay focused on the big picture  (no pun intended) which is building your business by exceeding expectations, give it time and it will definitely grow.

I found two great quotes for this morning from two people whose backgrounds couldn’t be farther apart:

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.       M.  Gandhi

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.  B. Gates