Think of the most important thing you have in your business or organization: If you thought “reputation”, you are correct. We build a great reputation by what we say, what we do, how we look, and how we treat people. If you and your company have a fine reputation and have kept it for a long time, you almost certainly give outstanding customer service. You also care for your employees and value them. (It would be pretty hard to give great customer service if you didn’t!)
Even though we can build a sterling reputation, it is surprising to me just how quickly we can lose it. Everything counts. Here are a couple of examples:
For years I have been going to battery store every time I had a battery need. Last month, my wife and I went to this store to have a couple batteries replaced in our watches. When they replaced my watch battery, the watch started working again. With my wife’s, no such luck. It still didn’t work. He said it must be something other than the battery. When we got home, I set my watch down on the counter and the back fell off. That got us to thinking, and we went to a Jewelry store for a second opinion. They replaced the battery, and the watch was fine. What wasn’t fine was my perception of the battery store. We lost trust in their expertise. Next time we will go to the jeweler.
In another situation, this week we went to the deli counter of a grocery store we often shop at. We wanted a special type of lunch meat. They were out, but assured us they would have some in the next day. We went the next day, and they didn’t. They did not do what they said they would do, and they compromised their reputation.
Here is the message: Don’t just meet the expectations of your customer, “wow” them! If we don’t, our competition will.
