Good customer service is always right

Even if your business mows lawns, you’re not in the business of mowing lawns. You’re in the business of delivering client expectations.

In his presentation, Delivering Over the Top Service Excellence, at LANDSCAPES in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday, Jason Cupp stressed the importance of giving clients what they want, ask for and pay for. The former business owner and now growth consultant said the question you need to ask yourself is: Is your company client-centric? Is it focused on the client every single day?

“I’m convinced one of the largest differentiators between companies who are successful and not successful, both in market share and in sales profitability would be a focus on laser-like, client-centric customers service and retention,” he said.

Cupp told the story of a doctor who called him after losing a patient, driving home and arriving at home, where Cupp had recently renovated the landscape. The doctor explained how he felt that he had arrived at an oasis, and that’s when Cupp realized he was selling a feeling, not a service.

That’s why he gave his staff a certain amount of money to use to make an unsatisfied client into a happy one with no authorization required.

“If we’re selling feelings and emotion, we can’t let the emotion go to the other side,” he said.

Go the extra mile.

Cupp said customer service is so crucial because of the way people shop, and the way the make their purchasing decisions.

• Clients want to know and be known
• They are sick of just being “another number” especially a dollar sign
• They are more informed, and even more discriminating, than ever before
• They can find out virtually anything about your company online
• Value is not only an element of price, but of feeling
• Clients will NOT settle for mediocrity

Here’s one thing you can do Monday morning to start your interactions with your customers on the right foot: Answer the phone the right way. Cupp said that many companies don’t even bother to answer the phone.

“If a client takes the time to call us, we want to make sure that we’re there to answer that call,” he said. “And if you answer your phone abruptly, that’s not setting you up for success.”

So instead of saying “ABC Landscaping,” say “Good morning, thank you for calling ABC Landscape. This is Jason. How may I help you?” That way the client will feel that their call matters to the company.

Do it quickly but do it right.

“It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is, your clients care about how fast you are,” he said.

That’s what people want now, whether it’s nswering the phone, getting an estimate or getting it done. He used the example of Amazon, which has been wildly successful because it will send customers what they need right when they need it.

But you have to make sure that you’re doing the job the right way to ensure customers satisfaction as well. So how do you do it?

Cupp said that every single person in the company needs to be involved in customer service. “The best way to do that is to ingrain it in the company culture,” he said. “It has to be executed by every member of the team.”

Start by developing a focus group of your key clients across all demographics – not just the ones who have been with you for years. “Call that client you think you’re a day away from being fired from. It’s risky and they might yell at you but it’s worth it,” Cupp said.

Once you speak with them, you have to have a collaborative discussion with your team. Including them gets them on board right from the start. Figure out what your gold standard is and write it down. Then let everyone know about it by putting it on contracts, your website, social media or press releases.

And remember that you don’t have to do it all at once. You can take it “one bite at a time,” Cupp said.