Stealing a Client’s Experience

I am in the middle of reading one really excellent book, “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael E. Gerber. On page 105, Gerber shares an anecdote about going to a barber shop where, on the first visit, he got a great hair cut and was thoroughly impressed with the fantastic customer care and service that he received. On the second visit and third visit the haircut was still excellent, but everything else (service and customer care) was at best randomly applied or not at all. Because there was absolutely no consistency to the experience, he made the decision to not return to that shop. The essence was that the barber gave him a delightful experience and then took it away.

On the flip side, I recently stopped into a new natural bakery/sandwich shop that had just opened near me (http://www.greatharvest.com/). I LOVED it! The bread and the sandwich I ordered was beyond delish! I was tempted with small nibbles of their baked goods from the cutting board and given a card for a free loaf of fresh baked organic bread on a future visit. Everyone in the shop was warm and welcoming. I was already anticipating my next visit. I wanted THAT experience again. And I’m happy to say that I got it…each and every time I’ve been there since. It’s become my favorite lunch spot and I’ve begun to use them for catering orders).

Consistently great products/services matter! Consistent customer service matters! But pulling those into a consistently awesome and memorable experience for your clients – Priceless!