A consistent customer experience is paramount to your business success. Once a customer gets a taste of great service, you better keep on delivering!
Predictable Company Response
My family and I had a DiGiorno pizza this week. Unfortunately, it was missing a large section of cheese. Since I had trouble with DiGiorno in the past, I called up their customer service for help.
The person on the line might very well have been reading me the very same script I heard two years ago.
Was that a bad thing? No. The DiGiorno representative apologized and will be sending me a coupon for a free pizza. This is the same result I got the last time I had trouble with their pizza.
Here is the pattern:
- Customer buys product
- Product has defect
- Customer calls customer service
- Company apologizes and compensates customer for trouble
- Customer buys again
Because DiGiorno treated me well, I’ve continued to purchase their product. I always knew that if there were any problems, the company would take care of me. The company that guarantees its products will earn customers for life.
Good Experience Followed by a Bad One
Let’s contrast this great example with my recent Sears nightmare.
With Sears, I’d had a good experience in the past where the company tried to make amends and give me a good deal. My most recent experience was the complete opposite.
Sears had set my expectations in the past that they would negotiate and deal on price. My last visit to Sears completely destroyed my previous favorable experience.
Secret to Success
What is the difference between the DiGiorno and Sears examples?
When your company is consistent and dependable over time, your customers will start to expect a certain level of service. When that happens, you’re obligated to continue at that level. If you get lazy, your customers will notice.
Build on that level of service and make yourself even better. DiGiorno has mastered the basics. They can now move on to a new, higher level of customer service. Sears, on the other hand, keeps falling back. They need to start over and do things right before they can progress.
Be consistent. Meet your customer’s expectations first, then exceed them. After that, don’t stop! Keep getting better.