Are you “just” taking care of your customers?

 

Or are you creating a customer base that really wants to do business with you? The difference can mean success or failure.

 

Some time ago, my DVD player stopped working. I waited until after Christmas so that I could take advantage of the inevitable sales. My challenge was to find a DVD player with a black front panel instead of a silver panel, so that the new player would match my existing components.

 

My first stop was Costco. They didn’t stack a black model from any manufacturer. I did, however, discover that I could buy a combination DVD and VCR player for about the same price as the DVD player alone.

 

So I went online and learned that Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony all produce a black front dual-purpose unit. Great. Now, where to buy one?

 

When I searched the Web to find a source, both the Circuit City (remember them?) and Best Buy sites promised that all three manufacturer’s products were in stock at their local stores. Off I went again.

 

I first stopped at Circuit City. Now, I know they went out of business last year, but I think my experience in store may help you understand why they went bankrupt.

 

At Circuit City, I found a large table with several black-fronted DVD players that were “open box” items.

 

That meant a price reduction, correct?

 

Wrong. When I compared the “open box” prices to the “sale” prices of similar products, the savings were almost non-existent.

 

I spent several minutes trying to find a salesperson. When I finally did, I asked about the DVD/VCR combination with the black front that I saw on the Circuit City Web site. My salesperson took me to the “open box” table and showed me the DVD players, explaining that was all they had with a black front. When I repeated that I wanted a combo DVD/VCR, and that they were shown on the Web site, I was told that there were no manufacturers that produced one with a black front.

 

So I left as not a very satisfied consumer.

 

Here was a perfect example of not listening to the customer. I was ready to buy a product that I knew was made, and probably was somewhere in the store. Even if it was not, even if the salesperson was correct, there was no attempt educate and convert, to try to sell me a different product that might meet my needs.

 

Was that a result of poor training or poor attitude? No matter: The result was the same. A customer ready to buy was lost.

 

Next, I went to Best Buy. Again, I waited for several minutes for a sales clerk. Once he was free, I asked for assistance and was informed that he worked in a different department. He used a two-way radio to ask someone else to assist me. Several more minutes passed. I should point out that the store was not crowded.

 

The sales clerk that arrived said he was not from the video department, but he would try to help me, nonetheless.

 

We found three products that suited my requirements. He also checked to see if they had “open box” items, which would be sold at 10-30 percent less than the best price being offered. Unfortunately, none were available. When I had a question about the difference of one model and another that he could not answer, he used his two-way radio and got the answer.

 

Truly “customer service.”

 

Now came checkout. There were 17 people in line, one long queue with two cashiers. What was amazing was that there were six registers available. More importantly, they had three security people at the door checking the packages of each person after they completed their purchases and left the store. The line moved slowly.

 

It took over an hour to make my purchase, which could have been done, online, without parking, without waiting, and immediately. Sure, shipping would be extra, but there were sources that were outside of Illinois that would not charge me sales tax, and that savings would have offset the cost of shipping.

 

Circuit City’s salesperson just “took care” of me. He did the minimum necessary to answer my questions and show me product. He did not look beyond the shelves for a solution. He lost a customer. He probably lost many customers.

 

Does anyone doubt that poor customer service was at least one factor in the company’s demise?

 

Best Buy, while they could have done a much better job at checkout and made it easier and faster to find sales assistance, did an excellent job in getting answers and finding the product I wanted.

 

Best Buy solved my problem. And if they fix their checkout issues and get their sales people to be a bit more proactive with approaching customers, they may even get to the point where I want to go there to buy, where I will insist on going there, even when I could save some money elsewhere.

 

Why?

 

Because it’s not just about the item being bought.

 

People want more than just stuff.

 

They want relief. Of course, they want relief from products and services that solve their problems, but they also want relief in the way they get them.

 

They value their time and do not want it wasted. They want knowledgeable sales assistance, not robots with zero interest in them. They do not want to be hassled or ignored. They don’t want to wait in long lines to pay.

 

Isn’t it time for your collective efforts to focus on creating “customer insistence” by offering solutions and providing relief? Isn’t it time, as we come out of recession, for your organization to commit to Better Change?

 

I am not talking about merely meeting customer expectations. Customers demand that much from any supplier. I am talking delivering an experience that creates in your customer not just a strong desire to want to do business with you, but an insistence on doing business only with you.

 

This year you Better Change and focus on creating “customer insistence.”

 

Your competition is doing it.

 

Your customers are expecting it.

 

And if you do not provide it, they will find someone that will.