Pampered Clients: Great Customer Service via Technology
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My friend and I meet every few months to catch up, have lunch, a glass of wine and facials. It's a nice relaxing afternoon. Every time we go to the spa, however, we become slightly irked - not the spa experience you would expect. It has nothing to do with the facials. The facials are great. It has to do with fact the company tracks and remembers our phone numbers so they can remind us of our appointments, e-mail addresses so they can continue to market to us, and credit card information so they may charge us even in the event we forget about our appointment (we never have forgotten the appointment; believe me, this is a priority appointment!).
Every time we are there however, they will invariably ask us if we've ever been there before (YES!) and they'll ask our slipper size (which has not changed in the past 20 years). I suppose these bits of information aren't important to them, so they don't feel compelled to track it. However, it does take away from the overall experience. In the twenty years that I have frequented this establishment four to six times per year, I feel as if they know more about my credit card than me.
What information do you track on your clients? Does the information only benefit you or do you also track information that will make your clients feel valued? If you can't honestly say that you are tracking information that will help you develop a personal relationship with your clients, your technology isn't helping you maximize your clients' experience and your clients are probably walking away - even from a good experience - feeling slightly irked. And when this happens, you are vulnerable to competition. The last time my friend and I went for our facials we visited a different spa. After 20 years, we went somewhere else! And, we had an amazing experience. I'm sure if we had felt more important, we wouldn't have even considered it.
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Categories: Customer Service Tips - competitive advantage
Tags: Good Customer Service Competitive Advantage Susan Hoekstra customer service expert customer service tips Client Visits The Service Journey client experience Bad Service
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11/9/2009 4:21 PM
uberVU - social comments wrote:
This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brian Burk: How do you pamper your clients? http://bit.ly/YKQSh
As the "friend" in this situation, I feel compelled to add a comment. Whenever I think of this particular spa, I remember how they don't remember me. It irritates me but so far not enough for me to go somewhere else. It would be great if one day they surprised me by remembering I have been there dozens of times and that I wear a size 7. I think it is sad that something so basic, would now be a "WOW" moment.
I moved a couple of towns over a few years ago and kept the same dry cleaner. Why? Not because they did a better job nor because they were conveniently located and definitely not because they were cheap. I keep going because even after 6 or 8 months of not being in the store, the staff always remembers my name. I am sure if they gave me slippers, they would remember my size, too.
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I'm sure your dry cleaners would remember you. As far as our spa? I'm not holding my breath.
The thing is, delivering great service doesn't have to cost a lot, take a lot of time or be a 'huge' moment. It's the small things, consistently done that add up to a great client experience. Unfortunately, it's the small things, that can add up to a really poor experience as well.
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