Marketing Now

HOW TO LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

The universal truth is that customers want to be respected. Disrespect their time by making them wait unnecessarily, and you have committed an unforgivable personal affront. Disrespect their intelligence by making hokey offers, and boy, the game is on. Disrespect a customer by offering shoddy service or product, and you are left only with price on which to deal.

On the other hand, give the customer a little status, and you are on your way to a profitable relationship.

One of the best ways to show respect for your customers is to let them know that they have the attention of the boss, el Hefe, the Big Cheese. Everyone likes to be able to say, “I know the owner and the owner knows me.” Or to put it in borrowed words, “I’d rather meet a dumb owner than a sharp manager.”

EVERY CUSTOMER IS A CANDIDATE FOR RESPECT

One customer group that is dying for respect is the young adult group. Young working adults are very aware of their spending power, and, because this group is most likely to be just starting out in the adult economy, they want respect for their hard-earned, they-didn’t-come-from-daddy dollars.

A few weeks after Sporty’s opened, we were discovered by the camp counselors who ride herd over the small army of summer campers that invades our quiet river valley every June. One night a week, the counse- lors slip away from their charges and head into town for a little R & R. One evening, we had the NBA play-offs on all 18 televisions at Sporty’s, and, in the words of the hostess on duty, “the place was rockin’.” It was a nice surprise to watch a group of 6 early-arriving counselors grow to become a long table of 25 that stretched clear across our largest dining room. They were laughing and teasing and, in general, just having a good time sipping from frosted mugs, when “the old people” approached one end of the snaking train of tables.

“Excuse me, folks!” My voice had the effect of holding up two fingers at a Cub Scout banquet. You should have seen the looks on their faces. I understood in a heartbeat what they expected me to say, espe- cially after I introduced myself as one of the owners. What they thought I was about to say was: “You need to keep it down. We have other customers who want to eat without being disturbed. Also, don’t ask for separate checks. And, in case you haven’t noticed, it is our policy to add an 18 percent gratuity for large parties.”

Instead, they heard this: “Sorry to interrupt your good time, but we just wanted to say thank you for coming to Sporty’s tonight. We want you to have fun and enjoy yourself. You deserve a break, and we’re glad you chose us tonight. If there’s anything that you want, just ask and we’ll do our best to accommodate. We’re heading to the house now, but we wanted to say hello first and remind you that our telephone number is right on the menu if you should need us. (Try not to need us!) Have fun, be safe, and we’ll see you next time! We appreciate your business.” As we walked away from the group, we overheard a male voice say, “Wow, that was nice!” followed by an obviously surprised female voice saying, “That was amazing!”

With 18 televisions, there are times when it would be possible for every seated table to have its choice of programming. At most sports- themed operations, the televisions are strictly hands-off. At Sporty’s, you are likely to hear: “Are you watching what you wanted to watch? If you’re not, we can bring you a remote and you can watch whatever turns you on, except for Jerry Springer!”

We are often met with a surprised look and a “No, thanks.” So we follow up with, “Hey, this is America. You’re at Sporty’s. Do what you want!” Isn’t it a sad commentary that you can amaze customers with something as pedestrian as respect?

The most respectful thing you can do for a customer is to listen and at the very least give consideration to their requests.

At Sporty’s, we leave a guest comment card with each guest check. Every card that is negative and every card that offers a suggestion get a personal response from me. (This may be impossible to sustain, because the same applies to each of my reader comments.) This week, we have had requests for fresh salmon, baked eggplant, and a host of menu items that sound great but do not fit our concept. We also had a suggestion to add a vegetarian burger, which we’re taste-testing, along with an idea to create a smaller version of our Big Dog dessert, to be called a Little Puppy.

Neither of those potentially good ideas would have come our way had we not had in place a formal system for getting in front of the cus- tomer. And we have lost count of the number of times our guests have said, “Thanks for taking time to talk with us!”

Too bad that when it comes to listening to customers the playing field is so un-level. The big players have their MIS departments, their market research departments, and their gurus of finance and economics. It’s too bad the owner of the local dry cleaner can run rings around them all, simply by leaning across the counter. “Hey! Good to see you again! Are those plastic retainers we’ve been putting on your collars helping keep their shape? Just out of curiosity, why exactly do you choose us as your dry cleaner? Got any suggestions as to how we might do an even better job?”

Keep in mind that listening is the best way to discover what is on your customers’ minds, what problems they have that you might solve, or where else they may be shopping and why.

Source: T. Scott Gross, “When Customers Talk… Turn What They Tell You into Sales,” Dearborn Trade Publishing, Chicago, 2005

Republished by Marketing Now

Related Posts:

• Asseblief, Laat My Nie
• Por Favor, No Me Dejes
• Por Favor, Nao Me Deixe
• Per Favore, Non Mi Lasciare
• Bitte, Lass Mich Nicht