Perspectives

Do you need a gardener?

The pharmacist looked up to see the little boy standing at the drug counter in front of him. He wasn’t dressed very well but wore a big smile. “How can I help you, son?” the pharmacist asked.

“May I use your phone?” the boy inquired.

He didn’t recognize the boy as being from the neighborhood. He obviously wasn’t from a wealthy family; he didn’t have a cell phone.

“Son, that’s a business phone,” the pharmacist responded.

“Yes sir, but I just need to make one call – it won’t take long.”

The druggist thought perhaps it’s important. “O.K. son, be quick,” he said as he turned the phone so the boy could reach it. He returned to work with one ear tuned to listening to see what was so important to bring the young man in to use a phone.

“Mrs. Smith, do you need a gardener?” was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Yes, Ma’am, but I’m real careful and I trim around the bushes.” … “Yes Ma’am, I bag everything and rake when I’m through.” “Yes Ma’am, thank you.” He hung up the phone and turned it back toward the pharmacist.

Impressed with the little boy’s ambition the pharmacist said, “Son, don’t give up, you’ll eventually get a job.”

“Oh,” responded the boy, “I have a job! You see I am their gardener, I just didn’t know how good a job I was doing.”

It is no accident that Parker Cadillac in Little Rock, Ark., has been ranked as the #1 Cadillac dealer for customer service in the US for nine years. One of the things they do to check the quality of service they perform is to make a follow up call to each customer after they’ve had work performed in the service department.

How do you check to see how good a job you’re doing in your customers’ eyes? Or do you assume everything’s fine and ignore checking.

Be cautious of trusting comments of “everything’s fine” by your customers. Why? Research has determined that only one out of 20 people that are unhappy with the service they receive will tell you. Think like this when you’re in a restaurant and the manager or wait staff comes to your table and says, “How is everything?” Nineteen out of 20 people will say “fine,” then turn to a table partner if they weren’t satisfied with their food or the service and say, “I’m never coming back here.” I’ll bet you’ve had some form of this happen to you or observed it with others. Most people don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or create a confrontation. As a result they don’t provide valid feedback.

The good news is this. When you successfully resolve a complaint with an existing customer they become more loyal to you than ever before. They now know that you’ll make things right so their trust level and loyalty is increased.

So, what should a business owner do? Listen very closely to complaints. Be open and receptive vs. defensive. Create an attitude of thankfulness when a customer is complaining about your service or products. Why thank them? They may be speaking for 20 others and their feedback might help you to improve your business. Worse yet, they could be telling 20 others instead of telling you. That’s what the average person does. Taking complaints as a blessing instead of a nuisance is one way of separating yourself from the competition and creating ZING in your business.