Tell your customers you have a problem.
…they probably already know anyway - or will find out soon. It’s far better for you to get ahead of the curve and reset expectations.
For example, The Cleanery, a dry cleaners here in Albuquerque, called me on Tuesday. “We’re really sorry, but we’ve had equipment problems and your cleaning won’t be ready today. We should have it tomorrow.” Then, they called on Wednesday to say, yes, it was ready.
A little, simple thing - took the owner a total of about 30 seconds to make those calls. I’m a happy customer, and am now telling you about them! (You can also set up an account with them online and they offer free pick-up and delivery. AND, the counterperson asks first-time customers how they’d heard about The Cleanery. A whole five seconds of his time that enables the store to track marketing results. No fancy-schmancy system or software required.)
Tags: marketing, customer service, marketing troubleshooting, The Cleanery
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November 2nd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
One of the most memorable customer experiences a business can create is “the management of surprise.”
No one can eliminate every surprise. Your dry cleaner couldn’t know about their equipment problem.
But that owner could and did control was how the business “managed surprise.”
Love this story! Thanks for sharing Mary!
Keep creating,
Mike