The Customer View

Above & Beyond

I don't say this often, but in this instance, Cox rocks!

I called our cable TV and internet provider, Cox Communications, because I needed to have an additional telephone line installed. They sent Geoff (known to his colleagues as Tech 66458) to my home to do the work.

First off, he arrived well within the designated 2 hour time frame that was promised to me when I made the initial request for service.  So, Geoff gets points there.  That started our relationship off on the right foot.

Before getting down to business, Geoff needed to scope out the situation, so he'd know if he could utilize existing cable installations or have to install new ones.  In the process of his assessment, he found that he could use the existing set.  But he also found some odd connections that were having a negative impact on our service.

1. He identified a cable from our main cable box that fed our TV and Internet service to the first floor of our house.  A second cable with a splitter allegedly fed the three rooms upstairs.  But the cable TV only worked in one of the rooms, and it was a room where we did not want TV.  In my office, where I did want the TV, no signal came through.
2. He also realized that having the cable come upstairs, split three ways, and none of them being used, was actually sucking some of the life out of our wireless Internet service.  The unused cables were acting as "antennas" and were pulling in part of the wireless signal.

With a few adjustments, he was able to hook up my telephone service, change the splitter, kill the cable TV in the guest room, and install the cable TV service in my office.  So, in addition to the phone line that I requested in my office, I now also have working TV - just in time for the Red Sox playoff run! - and we have faster, more stable wireless Internet.  Thanks to my man, Geoff, going above and beyond the call of duty.

Moral of the story: great customer service doesn't have to be a big deal.  In fact, simply being friendly and helpful goes a LONG way in the delivery of world class service.  Geoff understands this; I hope Cox realizes the positive impact he made on a customer's experience.

  -- Chuck Dennis

Customer Retention Outside the Box

I read an interesting piece today by Australian business consultant Peter Shallard, called Repeat Business and Customer Retention Formula Revealed.

He talks about a coffee shop in Sydney that, in addition to serving good coffee in a timely manner (a baseline for any coffee shop), had Polaroid snapshots all over the walls.  The photos are all of dogs, all taken in the cafe, with each pup's name written on the bottom.  Mr. Shallard then looked around at the other patrons, and estimated that 80% of them had dogs with them!  This is when the light bulb went on for him.

This cafe, one of many within the area, had built a loyal clientele by providing a good product with good service, and then combined that with another, unrelated, aspect that many customers were drawn to. 

To Mr. Shallard, and to me, this is brilliant in it simplicity.  For almost any product or service being sold, there are no doubt dozens, if not hundreds of other competitors selling the same thing.  Quality, price, service, and locale may not be enough to win a customer's loyalty.  But combining a business' primary product with another unrelated (but interesting) concept may seal the deal for certain customers to whom that unrelated concept appeals.

I imagine this was the thinking behind the first sports bar.  People get thirsty and hungry, so let's open an establishment to provide them beverages and food.  But wait, many people like sports, too, so lets decorate the place with sports memorabilia, and put a bunch of strategically-placed TVs throughout, showing sporting events or sports-related programming! Genius!

So, let's look at our own businesses.  We all work hard to provide a quality product and great service.  But what else can we add to that, that will appeal to a significant segment of our buying audience?  It doesn't have to be big, expensive, or complicated.  Polaroid snapshots of dogs on the wall - hello?

This is a great way to increase customer loyalty and retention, and have fun while doing it!  What a concept!  What can you add to your business to lock in loyalty from a significant segment of your prospects?  Please comment and share your ideas, and feel free to link to your site!