Creating Devoted Customers with Imaginative Service

Imaginative Service: What if Service Were a Treasure Hunt?

We had our granddaughters visit one weekend at our lake home.  There is absolutely nothing more jarringly creative than a five-year-old or more innocent than a three-year old. Grandparents wonder why their grandchildren can’t stay “puppies!!”

One morning we decided to stage an elaborate backyard treasure hunt.  The girls decorated their treasure boxes while we drew each a detailed map of the  yard.  While the two were off on a boat ride with their parents, we hid the “treasurers”—foreign coins from a business trip abroad, old costume jewelry, shells from a beach trip, etc.—and marked their locations on the respective treasure maps.  We even included a few silly treasures.  When the girls got back they took their decorated treasure boxes, their different treasure maps, and set out to locate the loot.  It was a joy to watch them squeal with each discovery.

What could you do to make your service like a treasure hunt for your customers?  How can you hide special treasures for your customers to discover?

Imaginative Service: Majoring in the Minors

Service air is the givens in a service encounter.  Like the air we breathe, we take service air for granted unless it is removed or threatened.  If the commercial plane we board lands in the right city, we don’t cheer; but, if it lands in the wrong city, we are upset.  We assume banks will be safe, hotels comfortable, and hospitals clean.  However, capitalizing on a “taken for granted” attribute can offer a competitive advantage.

The Columbia Tower Club in downtown Seattle has four stalls in the ladies restroom designed so the commodes face the outside of the building.  The exterior wall it looks out on is wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window.  Since the Club occupies the top floor of a high-rise building, a visitor sitting on the toilet can enjoy a panoramic view of downtown!  Patrons of the club would assume the restrooms would be spotless and well-appointed.  They would not expect a “john with a view!”

When Domino’s Pizza hit the marketplace with their promise of pizza delivery in thirty minutes or the pizza was free, they quickly “owned” the pizza delivery business.  If you asked pizza delivery customers if they expected their pizza to be delivered in thirty minutes or less, they would say “yes.”  However, attaching a guarantee not only made the feature apparent, it showed the feature off to the point other pizza delivery companies scrambled to match Domino’s offering.  What aspect of your service do your customers “take for granted?”  What steps can you take to boldly show it off? 

Imaginative Service: Turning Wow into Awe!

The last decade was full of excessive customer care entreaties: Delight your customers!  Exceed expectation!  Wowie Zowie!  Many – if not most – of these over the top enthusings were accompanied by the advice to bear any burden to keep customers happy.

That was then, when resources were abundant.  We are now in belt-tightening, downsizing, budget frozen 2009, trying to do more with less and still thrill the customer.  A perfect time to regroup, look beyond the easy impulse to give something away, and distill from all that enthusiasm what it really means to surprise a customer. 

The essence of imaginative service is committing acts that are unexpected, simple and valuable.  Just like a stage magician, it is the response that leaves customers as awed as wowed.   Done properly it can increase customer devotion without decreasing company assets.   Want a taste?

A major hospital in the Midwest asks patients their favorite flower.  When a patient returns to the hospital, they arrange for a single stem of that flower to be placed on the patient’s bed stand. 

Four Seasons Hotel Austin is a pet-friendly hotel.  Should guests indicate they are bringing their cat, for instance, they are awed when they check into their hotel room and find a Four Seasons logoed pet food and water bowl on a serving place mat with a complimentary cat toy. 

A manicurist escorts customers to their car after a manicure to start their ignition for them. 

So, if the economy gives your organization tough times, pull a bit of magic from your sleeve that takes your customers breath away.

Imaginative Service: When Trust Stumbles

We have had recent media examples of beloved companies leaving customers disappointed due to service hiccups. Whether the foibles were caused by a process failure, human error or unfriendly gremlins is irrelevant to customers already angry over a mean economy. Organizations that turn the oops into an opportunity are those that practice great service recovery.

Great recovery starts with recognition that disappointing service requires emotional repair, not just problem resolution. Too many organizations focus on damage control; too few practice betrayal management. Effective service recovery starts with a sincere and quick apology from the top of the organization. Apology does not mean “we goofed”; it means “I care.” It includes obvious speed and agility to stop the cause of the disappointment.

Great service recovery includes communicating empathy—words that let customers know the organization is fully aware of the impact of their service breakdown. Sometimes customers need symbolic atonement—a “gesture of sorrow” that helps dramatize the fact the organization is not treating customers’ disappointments as frivolous. They also need to know the organization has learned from the incident and is taking steps to minimize reoccurrence.

Customers do not expect service to be perfect. But, they do expect when things go wrong that organizations will demonstrate they care. Do you have an effective plan for service recovery—one that insures everyone handles the next service breakdown with confidence and consistency? Are you tracking customer complaints to determine if there are patterns pointing to a need for service process surgery, not just a band-aid for each flare-up? And in addition to tracking complaints are you assertively tracking the new and very powerful interactive social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) to insure you know very quickly what is being said about your organization?

Imaginative Service: Going Beyond the Basics

“When Business Week picks Amazon.com as the #1 best service company-- an on-line fulfillment company—it’s proof good old fashioned service is dead.”  The comment sounded like a “kids are going to the dogs” statement someone’s grandfather might make.  But, it was coming from a non-computer savvy physician in one of our client focus groups. 

Suddenly others in the room jumped into the discussion with jubilant praise for Amazon.com.   “Their website is so easy,” “I always get what I order,” “Their prices are the best,” and “Returns are a breeze.”  Their comments reflected excellence at the basics—the core expectations of all the "shoulda’s and oughta’s".  Then, someone told the story of a customer ordering a used book through Amazon.com, not getting the book expected, with zero success contacting the used book company.  Amazon not only refunded the customer’s money before the flawed book was returned but took on the rogue used book dealer on behalf of the customer.  Even the naysaying doctor was impressed.

Imaginative service creates devoted customers.  However, imaginative service only works if the basics are met.  Great service providers like Amazon.com provide only as much service as is needed---until more is required. A routine order and you get exactly what you hope for, no more no less.  But, if there is an exception or problem, you witness greatness and creativity.  We all like service with a cherry on top.  But if what’s under the cherry disappoints, the cherry won’t matter.  Are you focusing on sparkly service and letting solid service slip?

Imaginative Service: Building a Cult-Like Following

What is it that makes people pay $2.94 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, hundreds of dollars to watch the Green Bay Packers, or $20,000 to be placed on a waiting list for a Harley-Davidson?

The answer lies in the cult-like experience these brands generate in their customers—an experience that isn’t limited to coffee, football, and motorcycles, but can be applied to any industry.   How do they do it?  Three ways they use are network, identity and secret.

Network

“Network” creates ways of socializing the service experience, thus ramping up affirmation that the customer made a wise choice.  It is also a way to encourage customer storytelling––the best network glue there is.  Smart organizations often seed their networks with stories.   Walk into any large Starbucks and you will see evidence there are stories ready to spread.   Newsletters, blogs, and special takeaways can similarly be rich outlets for stories that build networks.

Identity

“Identity” involves finding ways the experience can be integrated into the customer’s individuality.  It is the principle behind all the logo-ed paraphernalia that many customers collect.  Identity might employ physical objects.  It could be a coded greeting, a special expression, a mannerism, or a style.  The key to making it effective is how easily it becomes a part of who the customer is and their style of living.

Secret

“Secret” is not about covert actions, it is about practices that help customers feel like an insider.  The tactic can range from inventing a special language or process, to making certain folklore known only to customers, to having customers become the first to find out about some new development. 

Cult-like brands have devoted customers. They don’t just recommend you; they insist to their friends that they do business with you, too. What’s more, they not only forgive you when you make mistakes, they defend you to others who have had bad experiences with you. They give you candid feedback when they spot a problem, and that’s feedback on which you can build a better business.

Imaginative Service: Being a Service Mechanic

“I dropped out of pre-med in college,” he told us, wiping the black grease from his hands.  “I guess the smell of engine exhaust was more appealing than the sight of blood.”  He had us primed for what had to be an unexpected punch line.  “There are a lot of similarities between repairing cars and repairing people.  But, I don’t have to worry about malpractice suits, washing my hands between cars, and I don’t get a lot of emergency calls at night.  It’s a noble profession!”  He laughed as if he had just entertained himself.

His unexpected wisdom got us thinking about the mechanic side of service.  Why shouldn’t we make service maintenance and repair as important as the first-time, out-of-the-shoot service delivery.  Granted, there is pleasure and praise in making your customers smile.  But, behind great service delivery is someone who makes sure the service processes work, the forms are in stock, the phone lines are open, and there are enough spaces in the parking lot.  How can you elevate the nobility of being a service mechanic?

Imaginative Service: Injecting TLC into the Experience

“I just love to fly” exclaimed Roxie our flight attendant on Delta 5482 from Atlanta to NW Arkansas Regional Airport. “Can you believe they pay me to do this continued Roxie?”  We were greeted warmly as we entered the plane but we began to notice a difference as Roxie helped everyone get seated and came back to instruct those of us in the Exit Rows.  Roxie went way beyond the FAA mandated eye contact and verbal response that is now required. “I really appreciate you all helping me out” stated Roxie in her warmest southern tone. “Now please look carefully at the instructions and let me know if you have any questions. And thanks again for helping us out today.” Instead of the few lucky passengers with extra leg room we now felt as thought we were officially Roxie’s deputies empowered to assist in an emergency!

As the safety announcements for the small jet began we saw more of the same. Roxie stopped the normal script at the seat belt instruction and told us she would be watching closely to make sure we not only fastened our seat belt but that we also pulled it snug and kept it low. She then provided extra instruction on the use of the oxygen masks that would deploy in the event of an emergency. It was amazing how much Roxie had boosted our experience with extra instruction and an obvious extra large dose of TLC!

As Roxie began the typical refreshment service the TLC continued. Although our flight was only an hour and a half, Roxie was up and down the aisle several times refilling everybody’s soda and making sure whoever was hungry got a snack. When we stopped Roxie to tell her what a great job she was doing, she could only exclaim how lucky she was to be flying with Delta! Our guess is that Roxie is a very young mid sixties and she told us she had just started her new career! Her TLC affected everyone in the airplane. As we left the plane there were a number of us who stopped to say a special thanks to Roxie and got a sincere hug in return!

Roxie’s attitude, warmth and commitment were inspirational! She is a true professional and she touched all of the passengers with her special brand of TLC! She made our experience an exceptional one that we will remember warmly for a long time. We are on Delta again today but without Roxie and the flight attendant just doesn’t get it. We are back to feeling like passengers rather than the special people Roxie flew with! Our experience today will not be memorable unless you like bad memories!

How many “Roxie’s” do you have in your organization who deliver a great experience to your customers every time with their special brand of TLC? Or are your customers suffering through their experience with one of your employees who clearly is there just because “it’s a job”?