If a customer wants or needs more from you than their original order, don’t view it as an inconvenience, but rather more business for you.
We recently took our van into the dealership for a manufacturer’s recall. We scheduled an appointment and showed up promptly on time.
As I was checking into the dealership, I asked if they could take a look at the vehicle’s alignment.
This extra request was greeted with disdain and I was told “we can do that but it will take a lot longer to get your car ready.” The message I got was clear: you don’t want that alignment service.
So I got the recall service taken care of and then drove to another shop to get the alignment fixed even though the dealership could have fixed the problem and had my money.
In your business, you’ll find times when your customers realize they need more from you than originally planned.
This is a great opportunity for you since they will thus be spending more money with you.
Instead of a terse response like the dealership, you should say “Yes! We can do that for you.”
The extra work may take longer. The request may even mean higher costs to the customer.
However, your customer asked for it!
Respond positively. Yes! You can meet the customer need.
Once you identify that yes, you can deliver what the customer needs, you’ll need to then set expectations on how that changes what you need from the customer.
For example: “Yes, we can fix the alignment on your car. Alignments typically take an extra hour to service, is that OK?”
If you can meet the customer’s need, do it! Acknowledge it positively and with enthusiasm. After all, your customer wants to spend that money to fix the problem. Make sure that money is with you.
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Custom Toronto Promotional Items
October 7, 2009
I agree, but employees are not business owners – and realistically – they don’t really care as long as they get the paycheck at the end of the week. They don’t have a vested interest in the business so customer care is of little concern to them. Alignment or not – the rep gets paid the same
Joe Rawlinson
October 8, 2009
Good point: employees are not business owners. That means that the owner must create incentives for employees to give them a vested interest in the amount of the transaction.
This can be done with bonuses, commissions, profit sharing, or other rewards tied to sales volume.
Neptune Plumbing
December 24, 2009
Nice article and good points in the comments as well. It seems like such a simple concept, for some reason it isn’t. We have begun offering our employees “spiffs” or incentives for additional work. They are now not only willing to do additional work for the customer, but happy to do it. However, with incentives, you have to be careful that an employee is not selling additional unnecessary work just for the bonus.
Joe Rawlinson
December 31, 2009
@Neptune It is a balance to make sure incentives don’t negatively impact customers. But at the end of the day you have to trust your employees. Perhaps an audit of services rendered or customer feedback can help be some checks and balances.