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How to keep your Customers for a quarter of a Century Add Value
in Everything You do. A few days ago as I was reading an E-Book
on effective Internet Marketing I remembered an incident that
had a profound impact on my life. The incident took place
shortly after I had completed my studies and left college.
One of my best friends and his wife came to visit my wife and
myself at our home. At the time we had a five year old son.
After chatting for a while and playing our favourite card game,
UNO, my friend asked, "Why don't we just go out for a meal?" As
we all were vegetarians he suggested that we visited a South
Indian Restaurant very near to the World famous Wembley Stadium
in London, UK. What happened next overturned everything that I
had come to believe about service organizations and Customer
Service.
I telephoned the restaurant and tried to book a table. The
manager told me that they were closed and would not be opening
until 6:30pm. So far so good (or bad). That is where the
conversation would have ended with most organizations but not
this one. The manager asked me "How many are there in your
party?" I replied, "Four adults and a five year old boy." His
next statement blew me away. The manager asked "How soon can you
get here?" And I replied, "I can be there by three." He then
said "Come on down, we will open up for you."
That day we (my family) were introduced to the Royal Mysur
Thali, to Mango Lassi and Culfi ice cream. It was a fabulous
meal with huge portions. We had the restaurant all to our
selves. We felt like royalty. My friend seemed to take the
service and attention in his stride. Apparently he was
accustomed to this level of service from his days growing up in
his homeland, India.
Since then whenever I felt like having a meal out, my first
choice is always Woodlands. I have taken business associates,
friends and potential clients there. In fact perhaps eight out
of ten of my visits to a restaurant have been to Woodlands.
That incident took place a few years ago now. As a matter of
fact, the five year old boy will be twenty eight years old this
year and my most recent visit to Woodlands was just before
Christmas. I am amazed to think that twenty three years have
past since my first visit to that restaurant.
I guess this question is really a no-brainer but I will still
ask it; was it worthwhile to the company that the Manager
decided twenty three years ago to open the restaurant nearly
four hours early for two families to come dine with them? You
bet it was.
I could have waited and gone for my meal at a time when they
were open and I would have been a 'satisfied customer' but that
was not good enough for this Manager. He apparently decided that
he did not want a 'satisfied customer.' What he wanted was a
'DELIGHTED CUSTOMER." Did he succeed? Well, what do you think?
Eight out of ten visits over the past twenty three years
certainly speaks volume.
How would you like to have your customers stay that loyal to
you? You would? Ok, let's see what that manager did. The first
thing he did was to recognise that I could easily go to another
restaurant and might never call him again. Next, he decided to
inconvenience himself so that I would feel special, in his
effort to get me onto his premises. When I got to the premises
the staff ensured that my party was comfortable and well looked
after. They then provided some of the best food I have ever
tasted. Truly a quality product and top class service. That warm
towel after the meal is really something special.
The final touch, as we were leaving, was the manager walking us
to the door, opening the door and saying to us, "thank you for
coming, please come again." Would you have gone back to a
restaurant after such treatment? I guess that Manager did a
great 'sales job' on me, but I didn't mind one bit. That Manager
knew all along, that I would most likely be asking myself
"What's in this deal for me? Is he going to over charge me for
opening four hours early? Not only did he not over-charge, on
the contrary he over-delivered and greatly surpassed my
expectations.
You might not be selling South Indian food but the same
principles apply. Now you know how to keep your customers for a
quarter of a century.
By: Errol Blackburn This is just one of a host of amazing
techniques taught at: http://www.InternetProfitMentor.com. Get
your FREE 12 hour video course plus many other incredible tips.
About the author:
I have worked as a Minister of Religion for many years but
currently my religious activities are voluntary. I am very
open-minded and enjoy interacting with most religious
persuasions. My passion is to help people become the best that
they can be. For over ten years I have studied success related
literature and I have found that one of the 'side-effects' is
that it makes you a 'giver.' Not necessarily going down the High
Street handing out cash
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