Every customer contact is a Moment of
Truth that creates a Moment of Misery, a Moment of Mediocrity,
or a Moment of WOW. In the Moment of Truth you can create
customers for LIFE or you can initiate a slow and painful
demise of your company one customer at a time.
A Moment of Mediocrity is
what most often occurs in business to customer interactions
and this is where the customer's expectations were met - and
those may even be low expectations. Customers who experience a
Moment of Mediocrity, feel "satisfied" but will not
reward the company with loyalty. These customers are only your
customers because they haven't found a better experience.
A Moment of Misery is
created each time you fail to meet the customer's
expectations. Often, Moments of Misery result in damaging and
highly persuasive negative word-of-mouth advertising and
customer defection.
A Moment of WOW is created
when you exceed the customer's expectations. Service must be
truly outstanding and service providers have to go
"Beyond WOW" to create the Moment of WOW. Moments of
WOW create a profitable base of loyal customers, which results
in growth, increased profits, and lasting value. (For hundreds
of ideas on how to create Moments of WOW, pick up my brand new
book, Beyond
WOW)
Two years ago I stayed in a luxury hotel in Miami with a
corner ocean view room. I paid $179 for a one-night stay and
my expectations for service were high. I experienced a myriad
of problems during my short stay and one situation stands out.
The morning of my departure I called the Concierge to arrange
transportation to the airport. Here's a summary of this Moment
of Truth:
Me, the Customer: "I need to be at Miami International
Airport by 5:00 pm for a 6:00pm flight. Can you arrange
transportation with Super Shuttle for me? " Simple
request - or so I thought.
Concierge: "Ma'am, you have to give at least a 24 hour
notice for a shuttle to the airport. I cannot call for you.
You can take a taxi or we can arrange a car for you for $99.
"
Me, the "paying" customer: "Why do you need
a 24 hour notice for a routine ride to the airport?
Concierge: "It's our procedure. You can take a taxi or
I can arrange a car. Those are your choices."
Me, the customer/ the reason you have a job: "Okay,
can you just veer away from "procedure" and see if
the shuttle can pick me up eight hours from right now?"
Concierge: "I can give you the number and you can
call."
I called Super Shuttle and the representative said,
"Sure, the royal blue van will meet you out front at
exactly 4:30." See how easy that was? Why couldn't the
Concierge just pick up the phone and check?
Here's what the Concierge should have said upon my request for
a shuttle: "Ms. Golden,
typically Super Shuttle requires a 24 hour advance notice, but
I'll see what I can do. If I cannot arrange transportation
with the shuttle, we can get you to the airport by taxi or
private car. Let me check on that and I'll call you right
back." This response would have made the
Moment of Truth a Moment of Mediocrity and perhaps I would
have considered another stay at the hotel. But my moment was
Misery and not only will I not return, but like every
customer, I'll spread negative word-of- mouth advertising.
A Moment of Misery is created
every time you:
*Tell a customer "No" without first telling them
what you can do
*Quote policy
*Fail to follow-up/follow through
*Make the customer tell and retell their story with
unnecessary transfers
*Respond to complaints with an accusatory or interrogatory
style
*Refuse to take responsibility for problems
*Fail to apologize to customers
*Tell a customer they are wrong - even when they are wrong
*Cut a customer off
You only get one Moment of Truth with
customers. What will it be?
Announcing:
New E-Course with Myra Golden...
How
to Design (or refine) a Quality Monitoring Program You Can Be
Proud of
If
you’re looking for the perfect trainer for keynote speaker
to help motivate your employees to create loyal customers,
you need to give me a call at 866-873-8419 or visit my
website at http://www.MyraGolden.Com.
Video
of the Week:
Jack
Nicholson’s famously hilarious chicken-salad-sandwich
speech in Five Easy Pieces
I
actually feature this clip in my full-day customer service
workshops. It gets hilarious laughter for sure, but after the
clip we discuss how the waitress could have handled this
customer better. Enjoy!
Since 1999 Myra Golden
has helped organizations improve customer service,
productivity and performance. Myra’s clients include
corporate giants such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay,
and Procter & Gamble, major nonprofits such as the
American Medical Association, the Society of Consumer
Affairs Professionals, and the Special Olympics, and
specialized firms such as Kubota Tractor Company, Mullin
Plumbing, and Ihloff Salon & Day Spa.
Myra gained national
attention when she helped a client slash their corporate
account defection rate by 50% by drastically reducing
complaint response time, teaching frontline employees to
truly see complaints as gifts, and equipping employees with
solid skills to completely restore customer confidence after
service mishaps – without giving away the store.
Her keynotes and
training programs are hallmarked with hard-hitting
analogies, thought-proving stories, and humor and she leaves
audiences with the inspiration to truly make their new ideas
work. Myra is lauded for consistently delivering practical
easy-to-implement strategies that result in real and
measurable organizational change. Learn more
about Myra and her corporate services by going to http://www.MyraGolden.Com.
As
one of my customers and/or subscribers, you know
by
now that I don't dance around the subject, so I'll get
If you have any serious interest at all in turning your
customer
complaints into more goodwill and loyalty than
you ever thought possible, then take a watch
this 4-minute overview videoimmediately:
Do
yourself a favor. At least take a look, and thendecide
for yourself.
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One low annual fee
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Myra's Golden Method for Complaint Resolution online
video course. This is the best deal for
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About
Myra Golden
Myra Golden gained national
attention when she helped a client slash their corporate
account defection rate by 50% by drastically reducing
complaint response time, teaching frontline employees to truly
see complaints as gifts, and equipping employees with solid
skills to completely restore customer confidence after service
mishaps – without giving away the store.
Her
keynotes and training programs are hallmarked with
hard-hitting analogies, thought-proving stories, and humor and
she leaves audiences with the inspiration to truly make their
new ideas work.
Myra is lauded for consistently delivering practical
easy-to-implement strategies that result in real and
measurable organizational change.
"Myra
Golden’s seminars are captivating and resourceful in
complaint resolution. Her tactics should be used throughout
the world!”
Brandy
Warrior
Coca-Cola
“It
was outstanding. I could relate to
Myra
and her strategies.”
Kristi
Collier
McDonald’s
Corporation
“Myra's program was excellent. One of the best training sessions
we have attended – well presented. The session was very
beneficial to our everyday job!”
