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Inside Outdoor | Spring 2015 42
“In fact,
it can take
as many as
to make up
for one
unresolved
negative
one.”
by Ritchie Sayner
Exceeding Customer Expectations
Have you ever gone to a
rock concert only to leave feel-
ing the band was simply run-
ning through its repertoire of
top hits in an effort to get off
stage as quickly as possible, col-
lect its fee and get to the next
town? Anyone who has been
to a Bruce Springsteen concert
will concede that what you get
is well worth the price of ad-
mission. It’s not unusual for
Springsteen to play shows
that are four hours long.
The E Street Band al-
ways seems to give
100 percent, and
the set list is always
different. Bruce
Springsteen is an
example of an en-
tertainer who clear-
ly exceeds customer
expectations.
In today’s rap-
idly changing retail
landscape, it is cru-
cial that retailers do ev-
erything possible to enhance
the consumer experience every
they have a customer
interaction, be it in a store or
online. As we all know too well,
the biggest assortment and the
lowest price for anything your
want to buy is only a mouse
click away.
Sure, attracting new custom-
ers is critical to any retailer.
er, given that it is “six to
imes more expensive to
acquire a new customer than to
keep a current one,” according
to the U.S Office of Consumer
Affairs, it is important that we
nurture our existing customer
relationships. It is also true that
news of bad customer service
reaches more than twice as
many ears as praise for good
service. In fact, it can take as
many as 12 positive experi-
ences to make up for one unre-
solved negative one, says cus-
tomer service consultant Ruby
Newell-Legner.
Here’s some personal proof.
Recently my wife and I were
at dinner with friends. One of
those friends had returned that
very afternoon from shopping
and couldn’t wait to unload, in
detail, her futile attempt to re-
turn an item with tags in place,
receipt in hand and the item
still in stock at full price. Since
she was admittedly outside the
store’s return policy, our friend
didn’t expect a refund, but
had hoped for a store credit.
Instead, she was told by the “as-
sistant manager” that she was
“stuck with it” (exact words).
Access to the store owner to ap-
peal the decision was not pos-
sible; consequently our friend
left the store mad and embar-
rassed, vowing not only to never
return but to post the experi-
ence on every social media out-
let she could find.
Clearer heads finally pre-
vailed and disaster was averted,
but this is the worst possible
scenario. This store would
have been much better off
to grant the store credit,
which is what the cus-
tomer wanted in the
first place. After all,
this was all over $58
–certainly not worth
losing a customer and
all of the potential
negative press. Just
ifferent
our dinner conversation
might have been if the
store employee had gra-
ciously asked what she could
do to make the customer hap-
py? What if she even included an
additional $5 on the store credit
just for having to make the extra
trip? It’s all abou exceeding the
customer’s expectations.
I recently asked a few of my
clients if they had any stories
they could share about good
customer service. Here are just
a few examples of the many re-
sponses I received:
A store owner received a call
on Christmas Eve from a cus-
tomer who was leaving on a ski
trip the next morning but who
had forgotten to pick up the skis
he had purchased. The owner
met him at the store, found the
skis, and even went so far as to