Victor booked the car in for it’s regular service in early April and it was confirmed before the lockdown began. But in April the dealership closed down its operations due to the lockdown. What concerns us is the dealership did not inform anyone that their appointments were cancelled. Now you might say well it was obvious, agreed but what would it take to notify your customers by e-mail or phone and apologize but give them reassurance that they will be prioritized on return of business.   

I always remember a training video I saw in the 1990 about a Cadillac dealership in the USA. They were the most successful in the USA and one of the most profitable because they focused on customer care. In the video they explained that when they deal with a customer, they realise their future potential value. 

If the dealership takes care of the customer, they will buy a future car from them, they might also buy a vehicle for their spouse or children. They will recommend them to other potential customers so the reality was that an average happy customer could be worth up to 25 vehicle sales. Now that a valuable customer. Staff were briefed on the concept and then customer service climbed and the dealership was very successful.

Look back at Victors experience with his dealership who are hiding from the customer, what impact does that have on Victor and other future customers? The reality is that they may try another competitor who does offer great service and actually cares about the customer.  

How many other businesses are hiding from their customers today? Limited advertising, no information on what is happening. No reassurance that they expect to start operations again. Why?

A simple communication strategy is all that’s needed. In the case of the car dealership why didn’t they send out e-mails to their customers who have booked their cars in for a service. They have their phone numbers and in most cases e-mail addresses. They can even use software products that can customize mass e-mails? That’s how you build customer loyalty.

We have worked with a number of organisations and it’s interesting how many companies initially took their customer for granted. In the good time organization can get away with it but in today’s climate you cannot afford to ignore your customers. 

Actions to take: 

• Starting building a data base of your customers. You may already have the data.  Just ask your staff! You will be amazed how much information you staff have on your regular customers.

• Prepare weekly messages about what you are doing. Tell them what your future plans are or what new products are coming. 

•  In the case of the car dealership, why not offer some simple advice on how to look after their vehicles in the current situation. Get a mechanic to produce a video on his phone on the key things to observe or do. 

• If you think you don’t have the capabilities then talk to your staff, get their ideas and you’ll be amazed what they come up with. You might be the only people in your business to be doing this and that gives you a competitive advantage. 

You have time on your hands now and instead of worrying about what might go wrong, start working on what you can do to secure your future business – your “Comeback Strategy!”  You really need to communicate with your customers and you need to do it now or your competitors will.

It’s really amazing to think that you can take off from one side of the world and land within feet of your intended destination on the other side of the globe. The distance is just over 8,000 miles.

This journey would have been unthinkable if not impossible in the past because the technology wasn’t there. I always find it interesting that many passengers get on an aircraft and then get off at the destination oblivious of the technology and skills of the Pilots that makes journeys today a simple formality.

We flew on the Boeing 777 which is a great aircraft both for passengers and crew. I remember when the project manager for the Boeing 777 project Alan Mullaly was given the task to build this amazing aircraft. From approval in 1990 by the Boeing board to the first test flight 4 years later the 777 was an amazing concept. Why? well apart from being an incredible aircraft with the latest technology, Boeing took the unusual step of bringing its first 4 airline customers who ordered the aircraft to work with them over 4 years to build a world beating aircraft.

It was an interesting concept getting the customer to partner with you in designing the customer experience and using the best technology available. Let me give you an example. One of the complaints that passengers complained about prior to the 777, was that often on departure the seat in the bathroom when left up and on take off it would bang down on the toilet on take off due to the vibrations of the aircraft. It would frighten some passengers or annoy others because no one knew what caused it. The airlines did and asked crew to ensure the toiled lids were down on take off. But it was often overlooked.

The team working with Boeing came up with a great solution. It was a small hydraulic arm just under the seat lid that slowly lets the seat come down without a bang. Next time you are in the bathroom of a 777 you may notice it. Was it critical no, but it made for a better customer experience. This was just one of the many ideas and enhancement that this aircraft brought to the travelling public.

That’s why the 777 has been such a successful; aircraft over 1,989 have been built to date. It was built with the customer in mind. So the next time you are flying on a 777 take a few minutes and consider what a great aircraft it is. It also shows that if you listen and act on your customers feedback you too could be very successful in your business.

My 2^nd experience was a good one and it was with Woodies, a DIY focused retailer. 

When I visit their stores (there are two in my hometown of Galway) I have always observed the staff being friendly and helpful whenever customers need help. I was in there about three weeks ago, as I was repainting a bathroom in my home. I had decided on a particular paint and while in the store I couldn’t find the specific supplier I wanted so I decide to look at another supplier. A staff member noticed me browsing the paints, I explained the situation and he said he would look in the store to see if he could find my original choice. A few minutes later he came back with the tin I needed. 

Two weeks ago, I decided to buy a computer desk for my home office and chose a sturdy well designed unit. I approached the check out and requested specific desk. She asked me if I could wait a couple of days which I thought was a strange question. She then went on to say they were having a sale later in the week and the desk I wanted would be reduced by 50% so I paid for a couple of other items. She didn’t have to tell me that, but the fact that she had made me realise how good the service ethic was in Woodies. A few days later I went in and got my desk with a 50% reduction which I was very pleased about. 

Looking at Woodies financials their trading profits have risen close to 50 per cent over the past three years which is impressive. It’s clear that good customer service leads to increased profits. I also looked at staff comments about Woodies. It makes interesting reading: Friendly environment, productive and fun; staff are treated with respect. A great place to work. 

What a difference to the other retailer where I had a series of bad experiences. Like many good companies they are not perfect but overall, the vision and values of the company stream down to the front line. 

Retailers, there are lessons here that you can incorporate into your business which will help increase profitability:

1. Treat your staff how you want your customers to be treated

Woodies spend a lot of time focusing on the staff. They have a ‘Colleague Committee’ for voicing their opinions. It’s important that staff have the opportunity to have a voice in the organization. They often come up with great ideas that can save the company money and improve the service experience. Don’t waste this valuable resource.

2. Make the job interesting and fun

Working in retail can be challenging and yes, there are some very difficult customers out there which front line staff have to deal with on occasions. You need to allow you staff to download in a safe environment. They will learn from each other and everyone benefits as their understanding will improve on the process to defuse such situations. Get staff to share funny stories, crazy questions they have been asked, strange customer they have met. The objective is to bring a bit of fun into the work environment.  Don’t forget to take the opportunity to recognize the good staff who get the best feedback from customers. 

3. Profits will come if you look after your staff

One of the biggest errors in retail management is not understanding ‘How you treat your staff directly impacts the service customers receive’. Good service leads to increased profits but only if you value your staff and their efforts to help your business succeed.  

4. You must train and develop you staff

Woodies run regular training programmes not only in customer service but in product information, communication skills, working in a multi-cultural environment and management skills. If you don’t develop your staff they won’t stay in your organization. Today most new joiners ask what development they can they expect in their careers. It’s a big benefit that retailers provide development, you will attract the best candidates and they will stay longer with your company. 

If you need help in any of these areas, contact us at Https://strategicleadershipconsultancy.com

 If you want to protect your business and make or keep it successful then read this. It’s a useful article for managers and staff to understand why the customer is important and for businesses to understand that staff and customers are important to their survival. 

My story begins when I decided to buy a quality printer from a high street conglomerate who specializes in PC’s and white goods and have operations throughout the UK & Ireland. I went to their local store as there was a sale on. There was a queue due to the ongoing Covid epidemic.

I stood in the queue for 40 minutes and eventually got to the front door where I was met by a gruff aggressive staff member with crossed arms. He said “What do you want?” I said “I’m looking for a printer” he responded with “We have no printer anywhere in the store” So I said no problem I will just have a browse around as there is a sale on. No you won’t he replied, no browsing allowed!

Wow what an attitude and I wasn’t the only person getting this attitude, which is shocking for a major retailer. Yes, we are all concerned about Covid, but to practically push a customer out of the store, who wants to spend money, is a first for me. So later that day I went online and asked to be advised when the printer stock will be in and the system said I will be notified. 

The system worked! I received the confirmation of my preference being in stock on Monday, the e-mail arrived Sunday night so first thing Monday I was back in the queue and yet again the guy on the door (a different person) challenged all customers asking what they wanted before allowing them in.  A young couple in front of me said they wanted to see what was on sale and they were refused – no browsing that’s the rule. So, they left and said they would go to a competitor where they would be allowed to browse.

I went back as they now had printers. I had to be personally be escorted by a staff member and I was told I could only look at printers, yes really! I told the guy I had an email confirming stock of a particular printer. He said no, they were out of stock of the particular printer I was interested in. He said they came in last Wednesday and all sold on that day. I asked why I received an email saying it was in stock. He said he didn’t know but that stock only comes in on Wednesday so I asked how about the next Wednesday, should I come then? He said no I don’t think we will get any printers next Wednesday. That was my experience with this retailer – will I buy from them? No, I certainly won’t. 

My first concern is what type of manager runs an operation like this? At a time when retailers are struggling against online sales and yet this retailer had such unpleasant staff on the front door. He or she must condone this attitude. As a customer it got my back up and I’m sure many other customers felt the same. The result is that staff at this retailer created upset and angry customers who their colleagues  would then have to deal with. I bet the staff think what awful customers we get in this store. Well, you create your customers attitude by the attitude you take towards them. 

I will be interested to see how long they last; staff will lose their jobs along with the managers and they will all wonder what went wrong. I looked up the comments of that particular store on Google and they get a poor score. Most reviews say rude unhelpful staff – I wonder if their management follow up on this. Sadly, it seems unlikely as the reviews have been negative for a number of months.

I had a look at Glassdoor ratings of this retailer as a place to work and they get a poor rating in all areas. This suggests this organization doesn’t value their staff and that’s another reason why the staff don’t value customers. Financially they have struggled over the past few years but had a good 2018 when they went back to profitability. I will be interested to see how they do this year.

So, what can you learn from this? 

1. Keep an eye on all public reviews about your business 

Reviews confirm the experience your customer are having good and bad. They highlight your good staff and it will also highlight problem areas that may need your attention.

2. Motivation is critical to business success

How often do you meet personally with your staff? You should try to do so weekly. Ask them what the problems are, ask them for suggestions on how to improve any potential issues. Share feedback with them. If it’s good then mention staff names, if it’s bad don’t mention names but discuss why that incident occurred and how it can impact the reputation of the branch and everyone who works there. 

3. Reward the good staff 

Recognizing your best people means they will stay with you and they will become an example to other staff. The majority of staff seek attention and recognizing them is the most powerful way. It’s not about the money it’s about being appreciated. 

4. Develop your staff and management 

Most frontline staff only learn about the organization and it values but what about the psychology of dealing with people? What about developing managers to effectively manage staff? When I asked the staff in my experience about if they had a been involved in training they said yes we attended the staff induction programme when we joined but that was it.

If you need help sorting out your customer experience contact us at;

Next week I will share another experience but more professional and customer focused and successful.