When you are a new customer, you often times receive better service than if you have been a loyal, long-time customer. We are thrilled when a new sales opportunity comes our way, but we yawn when the same old face shows up at our establishment month after month. New customers are exciting! A customer that calls in each week is dull and uninteresting. Sometimes the customer service you experience changes the moment you drive the car off the lot. Or, there may be small changes over time. The company stops offering free coffee or now charges for something that was free a few months before. Small concessions make an existing customer feel unimportant especially when new customers are showered with incentives and perks.

Recently, I had one of the greatest customer service experiences of my life at a small nail salon here in Orland Park, Illinois. You see, I had been a faithful customer at another salon down the road for a couple of years. When that salon opened, it was shiny and exciting! The technicians were all smiles and the place was immaculate. They took their time and made me feel like I was a favorite customer. One day, it dawned on me that the place had become a dump. It was dirty. The towels were thread bare. I wasn’t greeted by name anymore. The salon was busy. The attendant muttered under her breath and pointed to the chair I was to take. There was a timer predominately displayed at the station reminding the technician, and me, to hurry and move on. People were waiting. No time for special treatment. No time for a loyal customer. Move them in. Move them out.

So I defected. The shiny, new salon with its relaxing water fountains and fresh paint won me over. The new owner introduced himself and asked my name. He smiled as he walked me to my seat. He brought me refreshments on a tray. I had someone to not only show me a selection of magazines, but turn the pages for me! In the end, I was thanked with a hug and a handful of coupons for a discounted service in the future. I couldn’t wait to tell my girlfriends! This salon is going to be busy soon. That means I have about 12 months before my excellent customer service is cancelled!

Four things you can do to treat your customers with excellence:
1) Don’t let busy phones dictate how far you will go to help a customer. Do your best, one customer at a time.
2) If customers come into your office, make sure the person who will greet the customer is well groomed, smiles often, and is trained to make eye contact with the customer the moment the door is opened. The customer should not have to cough or tap on the desk to get attention.
3) When you speak, your body language, words and tone of voice need to match up. Saying, “Have a nice day”; in a monotone voice or mumbling “thank you” without making eye contact leave a bad impression. “It is your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.”*
4) Loyal customers who refer others generate business at very low or no cost. Look at the perks you have to attract new customers and see how you may be able to use those to reward loyal customers who make a referral or sign up for another service.
*The message