With all due respect to Charles Dickens, I borrowed his poetic creativity as an opening to talk about two very different customer experiences that I had this week.

I was in downtown Nashua, New Hampshire this week and had a couple errands to run.   Killing time, I stopped for a morning bagel at Bagel Alley. Upon entering the shop, I was greeted from behind the counter by the owner (I know it is the owner since there is a photo of her on the wall.)  I think calling the interaction a “greeting” was probably being too kind.  She  greeted me with a brisk and unfriendly, “What do you want?”  It was so unfriendly that I actually chuckled.

Once I gave her my order, she then made it with no other comment to me and as my toasted salt bagel with lox spread was complete, she literally threw it across the counter at me.  This time I laughed out loud and mumbled as I walked out the door, “Never coming back here”.  This was a tale of a woman who either hates what shes does or was having a very bad day.  Either way, her metaphorical “customer support city” is completely aflame.

I ate my bagel as I walked down the street to a coin shop, Gate City Coin & Jewelry, to pick up a birthday present for my dad.  The coin shop was small and was also manned by the owner.  The gentleman was beyond friendly and unbelievably helpful as I picked out some proof sets for my dad.  He gave me guidance and was chatty through the whole shopping experience.  Upon leaving,  I told the owner, “I will see you again soon.”  His superb customer support and demeanor ensured that.

The bottom line is that human interaction is what produces value in most businesses.  And companies that learn this grow and ones that don’t eventually die.

About the Author:

I recently spent an extended period of time in a small Montana town with a surprising selection of gastronomic offerings; Mexican, Thai, Italian, Greek, wonderful bakeries and at least two creperies.

During a conversation with a local grad student she summarized her reluctance to visit one of the creperies by commenting “I prefer food without the anger, thank you very much.”   Her comment referenced an employee who worked for one of the creperies and practiced the consistent habit of taking an order without even the glint of a smile (more likely one of annoyance).  Pouring the batter on the griddle, this employee would proceed to slap the customer’s chosen ingredients on the crepe with an attitude of anger and unrest.  Extra cheese??? (heavy sigh), Ham…Ka-whack!  Detaching the delicate creation from the griddle this employee would slap it on the plate and shove it towards the intended recipient before proceeding to delight yet another customer…..yes, this was consistent, predictable behavior, not just one bad day.

Wow, what a story and what a poignant end result: a non-raving fan.  Looking for the learning in this story?   If you own a business where you and/or your employees interface with the public, be mindful of the attitude you portray to your customers.  Sure, all of us have challenging moments (a recent Jet Blue flight attendant comes to mind) and times when we are not at our best, but in this case the behavior was so predictable that the patron opted to no longer frequent the business.

I believe every business with a public/consumer interface will experience invaluable benefit (and ROI) from integrating personality profiling into their hiring practices. A simple profile can provide accurate information about an individual’s skills and temperament, enabling you to place them in a position where they and your business will thrive.  Well known profiles include DISC, The Keirsey Temperament Sorter, Meyers-Briggs and my personal favorite, the PREP Profile, which can be customized to job position and existing management personalities.  In Jim Collin’s phraseology: It’s about “getting the right people in the right seats on the bus.”

About the Author:

Do you handle an upset with confrontation or with relationship building that gets results?

Last month, I registered for a two-day intensive coaching session. I was a bit surprised to receive neither thank you note nor recognition of my registration. Even more surprising: the details weren’t forthcoming. I became concerned because hotel and flight arrangements were necessary and the date was the beginning of a national holiday.

The situation grew worse. I called the office several times on several different days and explained that I would cancel my payment if I did not hear from anybody. Not only did I not hear from anyone, I was treated as an annoyance. The coaching for which I registered was not inexpensive. The coach himself receives praises wherever he goes, so I couldn’t understand why he would allow such poor customer service. I arranged to cancel payment.

Wondering if this gentleman knew what was happening back at the office, I wrote Brian, the coach, a factual and detailed email describing what took place. I advised poor customer service will sink a thriving company faster than almost any other criteria. For final measure, I added, “I’m writing this as a friend because I admire what you stand for and do not wish to see you hurt.”

Within minutes of receiving my email, Brian returned my call.

Brian executed his response perfectly:
1. He first apologized
2. Brain then shared, “Never employ family; you try to help but it becomes tricky.”
3. In gratitude that I held a helping hand rather than expressing 4 letter words, Brian told me he would be my mentor for the entire year!

Brian turned an almost lost prospect into a repeat and returning client, who has already begun communicating how terrific he is.  When you strive to help people turn lemons into lemonade you get what you wish for!

It becomes a win-win for all concerned and a very Smooth Sale!

About 6 months ago, we made a switch in our service.  This switch was precipitated by great work by a start-up, Buckley Disposal.  In this local operation, I think there are some great lessons to be learned for any start-up:

• Marketing works – Buckley did a direct mail postcard campaign that was action-oriented and simple-messaged.   For$7 per week, they would do curbside trash removal.  This was 40% less than Waste Management.
• Provide a good product – The process of trash disposal is not a sexy product, but to get customers you need to have a good product.  Mr. Buckley told my wife about how his process works and how they aggressively recycle on the back-end of the process.
• Provide great customer support – Buckley’s really gets that personal care is what is needed to win in a competitive environment.  Recently, we were going on vacation so we emailed in to let them know they could skip our house for the week.  Mr. Buckley actually called back and told us that he got our message and that he would credit us the $7.  We didn’t ask for the credit, but he just offered it.  Super customer support always wins over customers.

Most start-ups are in battles with large, established companies.  Maybe you can look at the efforts of Buckley Disposal in your business and find ways to beat up the big guys.

About the Author:

This summer finds me around 500 miles from my Portland Oregon Home in Helena, MT.  Recently, while sitting on a park bench on a warm afternoon, a woman who by appearances was likely homeless approached,  paused as I looked up, then advanced towards me when I smiled.  With a brief hesitation and a  (mostly toothless) grin she asked if I could do her a favor.  Assuming (incorrectly) the question that was to follow, I replied, “possibly, what is it you need?”  Her  response was ” Do you think you could just take a minute and talk with me?” What followed was an interaction where she mostly talked; I mostly listened.  My new friend walked away shortly thereafter asking if I would talk with her again if we happened across each other.

What does this brief interaction have to do with successful business?  Quite a bit actually. A few take a way’s include:

1) Avoid assumptions based on circumstances, surroundings or appearances.

2) Listen: This woman, just like our customers, are hungry to be “heard;”  a reminder for us to refrain from interrupting conversation and  offering our presumed immediate solution.  Be attentive, let customers talk; then respond. One of the highest needs of human behavior is the need to understand and be understood.

3) Slow down. I admit this is one of the harder points to practice in  our culture of  moving fast and  full, but  again customers that become customers for “life” want to feel their needs are important and worth your time.

4) Be kind…smile…make eye contact. It is absolutely amazing to me the power of a smile!  The need for genuine respect in our often  impersonal world is one of the highest values we can provide to our customers.

About the Author:

It was an unimaginable experience — a gigantic corporation that should know to train its employees much, much better.

A portion of my income is generated by delivering webinars.  Therefore, it is vitally important that my cable service be delivered without interruption. Unfortunately, my experience was such that I was motivated to change providers. I walked into the local store of the provider with all of the internet and television equipment in hand that required being returned. As fate would have it, the store was filled with new customers waiting in line.

I was cheerfully greeted — an excellent beginning but the excellence ended there. I was then asked to put the used equipment on the counter in the center of the store. Suddenly all eyes were upon me. Next I was handed a stationary phone connecting me to customer service - placed on the counter in the center of the store – and – in front of all the customers waiting to purchase!

This was an excellent strategy for discouraging their new prospects, current clients and future business development as I tried to discretely explain why we were terminating service. Why didn’t the employees escort me to a private room to take care of this? Emphasizing the company’s lack of forethought, this morning’s newspaper relayed that the very same company is not handling complaints of dropped calls on the iPhone appropriately. Apple is seriously considering Verizon as its next vendor. The marketing messages given by this company is “We’re too big and don’t care what you think!” Keeping this up, they won’t be too big for long.

In short, always take the leadership stance to be of the mindset of caring about your clientele and striving to build relationships. In turn, your clientele will take care of you making for a continued Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

Frequently, I write that the earmark of a dynamic business is the receiving of repeat business, referrals and testimonials. This is the area in which business development becomes automatic and sales pour in without much effort.

Many times, a satisfied client will be so preoccupied with their own work it will be up to you to keep a pulse on how they are doing in order to earn their repeat business. Additionally, they will not think to offer a referral or testimonial. You may always ask for the referral and/or testimonial – but it is in the asking that will make a huge difference in your outcome.

Make and receive requests with ease:

1. Never demand, and never assume a referral or testimonial will be given.
2. Graciously ask if the person will be willing to provide either.
3. Let your client know that either a negative or positive response will be fine so that you do not put them on the spot.

Someone recently not only demanded a testimonial from me but then proceeded to send a document outlining questions to be answered and exact instructions on how she wanted the testimonial to read. I found this very aggressive and it did not sit well with me.

The sad part is it gives pause to wonder if future business dealings should be conducted with this individual. I’m the one who frequently says that your words, actions and deeds have to be consistent because they form your brand. If aggressiveness is her brand then she lost me.

In closing, always be in the mindset of building relationships by understanding your prospect’s point of view first; build for the long-term and strive to over-deliver on expectations. This marketing-communication style will serve to put you in the leadership and expert arena and help you to achieve the Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

While waiting to board an airplane, we noticed an older gentleman running to make it in time. Perspiration was running down his face and he was obviously stressed. Another passenger asked him, “What happened?”

While waiting to pass through security, there was a woman ahead of him. She was feeding formula to her infant while tending to her 3 year old at her feet. Without warning, a security guard yanked the bottle away from the infant. The baby began screaming hysterically, the woman became frantic and that set off the 3 year old.

All of the security guards in the area and their manager had to have a pow-wow to discuss what to do next. Meanwhile all of the passengers waiting behind the woman were merged into one very long line causing much distress among those concerned about missing their flights.

All of this could have been avoided if the one guard had, in a kind manner, asked the woman to step aside with her children and formula. She most likely was not feeding her baby poison in front of hundreds of people. While the guards have an important duty to fulfill, using reason and a touch of empathy to build relationships with passengers for continued harmony will go miles further than creating chaos as what transpired.

What are your policies? Are they consistent with the marketing image you are trying to convey? Are you encouraging repeat business, referrals and testimonials? Are you viewed as the expert in your field attracting new prospects who soon become your clients?

Your policies are a large part of your business development. When implemented correctly with your mindset is focused on logic and helping others, you will easily find the Smooth Sale!

About the Author:

While most restaurants are still struggling as our economy is trying to recover, we were completely taken aback this evening when we stopped to eat at a long-time favorite. The wait time to eat at Sushi Sam’s, San Mateo, CA was close to half an hour. The establishment was packed with faithful clients.

The owner periodically would assure us we would soon be seated. Recognizing the hour was late and we must be hungry, the sushi and miso soup arrived almost instantaneously while the more difficult to prepare item took a little longer. We eagerly ate the first installment. The waiters in our area checked in to make certain everyone was happy, thus building relationships with the clientele.

After dinner on our way out, we heard “Thank You” from the waiter, the Maitre D, and the owner. Three thank you’s for a very modest dinner.

I have stated many times the words “Thank You” are one of your best strategies to use. Prospects and clients want to know they are appreciated. It is the sure fire technique that serves business development. Our experience walking out this evening hearing three thank you’s made us feel as if we are very important patrons. Given the quality of the food and the incredible service, you can bet we will return the next time an opportunity is presented.

What are you doing to encourage repeat business, referrals and testimonials? Is thank you a part of the strategy? When you work with this mindset in place, you too will enjoy the Smooth Sale!

Something really jumped out at me.  They made a big bold statement that coffee prices only include one refill.  While I am sure that they do this to keep bums from coming in and sitting there all day and only buying one cup of coffee, it sent such the wrong message to me.  Greasy-spoon diners cater to a wide audience and need to understand that some people (who pay most of the diner’s bills) often use it as an easy meeting place.  This diner’s coffee warning told me this is not a place I want to use as a meeting place again.

This message also made me think about the messaging start-ups use.  We have to understand that lots of people will see our messaging, and we need to make sure the message is really what we want to say to every audience.  Looking cheap or small is going to scare off the customers you value the most.