Continuing on this thread of customer service… I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes up a positive customer service experience. Assuming that you actually have a good product, the little things can make a remarkable difference.
What do I mean by the little things? They’re the things done for you that make you say wow. It’s where someone goes above and beyond. Often when someone is so good at doing this, you start taking it for granted.
For example, back in Michigan, the place I got my teeth cleaned would greet me by name, whenever I walked through the front door. The trick to this was… on my very first visit, they took a Poloroid photo of me and affixed it to the front of my file. That way, whenever I was coming in that day, my file would be sitting on the front desk and whomever was sitting up front would always know my name.
I’m a big fan of staying at the Kimpton Hotel chain. One day… I had just gotten back from my first day of doing meetings in San Francisco. I get into my hotel room and there’s a hand written note from the head maid telling me how much they appreciated me staying there and that I should let them know if there’s anything that I needed. It was accompanied by a gratis half bottle of wine and some fruit.
Heck, I love it when stores get my birthday and then send me those little cards saying Happy Birthday with a coupon for a discount.
One of the favorite things we do at Clearspring is send personal emails to new customers when they starting using the AddThis sharing platform. It’s fun when we get the surprised responses back from publishers totally surprised that we’d care enough to send them a note.
Its those little things. They just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It endears you towards that brand.
As a business owner, yes it takes a little bit more time. And yes you probably can’t quantify how knowing your customers birthday is going to lead to more products purchased but… it’s going to build an affinity with your customers which has the potential to last a life time.
What are the experiences that you’ve had that have put you head over heels for a company?
Oatmeal Stout - Justin Thorp's blog 
Similar to your dentist experience, we board our dog at Best Friends. They have pictures of our dog that they have taken over the years that flash on the big screens in the lobby anytime that we bring her in. Not only that but everyone at the front desk knows her by name and is always so happy to see her and play with her. It makes it much easier for us to drop her off and easier for her to transition to us leaving her there. To go the extra mile, they send us emails every couple of days of her with the staff with a little note saying how much fun she is having. I’m always confident that She is in great hands and will always pay more for that reassurance. They have a customer for life.
Justin,
Thoroughly enjoyed your article about customer service…Would you be opposed to my printing it and sharing it with my team at work??
You know how they say that the “apple doesn’t fall to far from the cart”? Well, you sure have inherited your dad’s knack for writing. Keep up the great work..
Shirley Kelly
@Shirley, thanks so much for your kind words. I’d be flattered if you’d share it at work.