Customer Satisfaction

How To Become A Great Customer!
by Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2003

During the past few years I’ve personally trained hundreds of CSR’s, managers, and salespeople across America. As a rule, they’ve been very patient with me.

They’ve listened to my ideas, and then put them to the test in client transactions.

But every now and then they wonder if a certain technique will work with their customers. That’s when I quip, “Don’t worry about that. They’ll catch on because I’m going to invite them to a class called ‘How To Be A Great Customer’.”

That gets a laugh, followed by the universal chant,

“You SHOULD! You SHOULD! You SHOULD!”

Which of course, got me to thinking. Why shouldn’t customers learn how to get the most from transactions? Wouldn’t it be helpful to know how to get along with service providers? Don’t customers frequently get in their own way?

So, part of our mission at www.customersatisfaction.com was formulated. In addition to offering consulting, seminars, speeches, and research services to companies we would establish a link with living, breathing consumers. We’d help them to get more value from their purchases and service transactions.

We’d even encourage them to rant and rave about the quality of the service they have been receiving. (See: www.customersatisfaction/rant)But for now, I’m going to share a tip or two that I’ve developed that will help you to get the best possible service—the service you deserve. In future columns, I’ll add to these ideas, incorporating the hints of service providers and others.

	(1)	Set yourself apart from every other customer by getting on the service provider’s good side. At the very beginning of the transaction, say to the person: “I know you’re going to do the very best you can for me—and I appreciate it.” Instantly, the person will feel YOUR empathy. Gosh knows, they’ve been trained to show empathy toward you, but it is especially gratifying to hear it coming from a customer. I used this line the other day to get a same-morning appointment with my physician. You know how hard that is to do when we sound like every other caller. But this time, the receptionist seemed to be at a loss for words. She asked me to hold, quite nicely, and then returned to the line with the golden words, “Will 10:45 this morning work for you?”
	(2)	Avoid using “pet-peeve” phrases. Perhaps the worst way to start a conversation with a CSR is with the accusatory words, “You people…” as in, “You people really blew it, again!”
	(3)	Use creativity to qualify for the highest rungs of service. I did this with the frequent flyer programs of Continental and Delta Airlines. Everybody knows that you can qualify for first-class treatment if you fly a lot on a single carrier. But what happens when you fly with its competitor? Usually, you relinquish your perks because you haven’t flown often enough with them to qualify in their programs. Wouldn’t it be nice to receive substantially the same perks that you enjoy with your customary carrier? I asked myself this question and inferred there must be a way to get competing airlines to recognize my Executive Platinum status on American. Guess what I found out? After making some calls, it was disclosed to me that most major airlines have unpublicized frequent flyer MATCHING PROGRAMS. If you prove that you fly frequently, they’ll award you with Silver or Gold status in their programs BEFORE you have flown a single mile with them during a qualifying period. So, you’ll be rewarded in advance, not after you have given them your business! This means you’ll receive first-class upgrade capability, special, shorter check-in lines at the airport, discounts on their airport lounge memberships, and you’ll even be credited with bonus miles when you do fly with them. Isn’t that sweet? It just goes to prove that by using your creativity you can get better service and more perks than you had imagined.

It pays to be a better customer! Stay tuned for more customersatisfaction.com exclusives.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the President of Customersatisfaction.com as well as the best-selling author of 12 books. Recent titles include Monitoring, Measuring, & Managing Customer Service and Please Don’t Shoot The Messenger! A popular keynote speaker and consultant, he teaches on the faculty of Business & Management at UCLA Extension and at scores of universities across America.

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