I don't know if you read my earlier article below about the Director of First Impressions? Well, here's a fantastic example of just that. The difference here though is that the Director of First Impressions was only ten years of age!
We've been working recently with a couple of small vehicle mechanic businesses, the sort of place you go to get your car serviced. One of our female mystery shoppers had a very poor experience at the first of these, where she was treated in quite a condescending way, almost being patronised. There was no offer of a seat while she waited, no coffee offered etc.
And then she went to the next business. On opening the door into a small but well turned out office, she was immediately greeted with a smile, eye contact and a warm "hello". From a ten year old boy!
He was smartly turned out, wearing a clean top embroidered with the name of the business and he immediately welcomed our shopper to the business. He organised everything efficiently, offered our shopper a seat, a coffee and asked what type of magazine she might like to read whilst she waited. He enquired as to how she was today and was friendly and chatty, genuinely taking an interest in the shopper and developing a great rapport. Our shopper felt like a friend of this business and a really valued customer!
The lad was on half-term and helps out in his Dad's business. He told our shopper that he takes pride in cleaning the office/waiting room too but would definitely not do the vaccuuming while a customer was waiting, so as not to offend with the noise!
What a brilliant little story. What a fantastic attention to detail! This lad understands great customer service at that tender age and he has created in our shopper, a raving fan of his Dad's business. I love it!
If you need help creating raving fans of your business, let us talk to you about mystery shopping. Find us at www.shopperanonymous.co.uk/contact/kent
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
How to get a raving fan!
Andrew Foote, Managing Director of Party Plus Franchising, Western Australia writes the following true story:
“My wife Donna had the pleasure of taking possession of a new car. We needed a second car and decided that buying an inexpensive new car was the way to go. We decided on a Hyundai Getz, pretty-well the cheapest and lowest number of features you can get in a vehicle. Not content, we bought it from John Hughes Hyundai a low price dealership. A standard story so far, but here's where it gets interesting from a retailing and customer service perspective:
The salesman asked us questions and answered our questions honestly. No stereo-typical car salesman techniques here.
He didn't try to do the big upsell. He presented options and when we said no, his only suggestion was the tinted windows, saying that he'd do them "at close to cost" because he really felt they were important. I'm sure the dealership still makes a little bit of money on this, but hey, we wanted tinted windows and it was almost half the stated retail price - so we felt like we'd got an additional bargain.
He told us the timing process. Clever at this point. He told us it would be the end of the first week of September - and yet he phoned on 28 August to say it was being registered and detailed Friday and delivered first thing Monday - ahead of schedule (under promised, over-delivered).
That all sounds like pretty standard, good customer service with a bit of thought and care. But when we arrived we were in for a shock:
After finalising payment, he took time to methodically go through the key aspects of the vehicle before we left his office, making sure we understood the John Hughes' follow-up Customer Satisfaction Survey process and how important it was to them to get honest feedback. We were told that John Hughes personally reads every form, that the good ones go into the monthly updated testimonial sheets that are clearly displayed everywhere (social proof), and that if there were negative comments, John personally phoned those customers to fix the problem (I know he does this from other friends who were shocked to get a phone call from him one Sunday morning - and who keep purchasing because John lives up to his "I personally stand behind every car I sell" credo).
He made a big deal about the servicing options - they can come to us etc - and how important it was to them that they have good quality tradesmen etc. My guess is that the service guys are just like Scott.
During all of the explanations, he maintained eye contact with my wife the whole time, while occasionally referencing me - because she was to be the driver and it was in her name (I was just the moral support on this occasion). I like that. Nothing ticks me off more than a man assuming that he has to speak to another man.
After all of that, we were about to get up, but he stopped us - presenting my wife with a boxed bouquets of flowers and a bottle of good quality Voyager Estate wine.
We're feeling pretty chuffed at this point. But now it gets better. We went to get the car which we were told was in the showroom. But when Scott stopped we couldn't see it. Scott pointed to a display stand with the sign reading in big letters "Donna's Car - Getz ..." etc with details. Cute, and we had a laugh, but it felt like a presentation. We looked in front of this sign and saw the car was completely covered by a dark coloured parachute-type of material. Grinning like teenagers (and we're, ahem, 50-ish), with flair he whisked back the cover to reveal a freshly washed and dried new car. How do you reckon my wife felt?
Not content, and after presenting Donna with the keys, he then spent a solid 20 minutes demonstrating all the features and even offering to set-up our Bluetooth connection for the phone.
Just before we were ready to go, he then said "Would you like a photo?" Why not! OK, it's not the world's best photo, but it was printed onto photo paper and placed inside a presentation folder pre-printed with Congratulations etc etc.
And did I mention the full tank of fuel?
What's my point? Someone has thought hard about this process. My guess is that the fuel, the flowers, the wine, the time, the reveal and the surveys etc all cost extra time/money and take a little preparation. Would it have changed our buying decision if we didn't get these? Of course not - we'd already bought the car. But did my wife feel special with her inexpensive new car? You betcha. Do you think we'll be telling people about the experience? I've just told you!
And no, I'm not associated with John Hughes. Not in the slightest - I confess I've always been a little anti that business because of the cheesy commercials. But I've now become a raving fan, and there's no doubt in my mind that they will be the first port of call for the next vehicle.
“My wife Donna had the pleasure of taking possession of a new car. We needed a second car and decided that buying an inexpensive new car was the way to go. We decided on a Hyundai Getz, pretty-well the cheapest and lowest number of features you can get in a vehicle. Not content, we bought it from John Hughes Hyundai a low price dealership. A standard story so far, but here's where it gets interesting from a retailing and customer service perspective:
The salesman asked us questions and answered our questions honestly. No stereo-typical car salesman techniques here.
He didn't try to do the big upsell. He presented options and when we said no, his only suggestion was the tinted windows, saying that he'd do them "at close to cost" because he really felt they were important. I'm sure the dealership still makes a little bit of money on this, but hey, we wanted tinted windows and it was almost half the stated retail price - so we felt like we'd got an additional bargain.
He told us the timing process. Clever at this point. He told us it would be the end of the first week of September - and yet he phoned on 28 August to say it was being registered and detailed Friday and delivered first thing Monday - ahead of schedule (under promised, over-delivered).
That all sounds like pretty standard, good customer service with a bit of thought and care. But when we arrived we were in for a shock:
After finalising payment, he took time to methodically go through the key aspects of the vehicle before we left his office, making sure we understood the John Hughes' follow-up Customer Satisfaction Survey process and how important it was to them to get honest feedback. We were told that John Hughes personally reads every form, that the good ones go into the monthly updated testimonial sheets that are clearly displayed everywhere (social proof), and that if there were negative comments, John personally phoned those customers to fix the problem (I know he does this from other friends who were shocked to get a phone call from him one Sunday morning - and who keep purchasing because John lives up to his "I personally stand behind every car I sell" credo).
He made a big deal about the servicing options - they can come to us etc - and how important it was to them that they have good quality tradesmen etc. My guess is that the service guys are just like Scott.
During all of the explanations, he maintained eye contact with my wife the whole time, while occasionally referencing me - because she was to be the driver and it was in her name (I was just the moral support on this occasion). I like that. Nothing ticks me off more than a man assuming that he has to speak to another man.
After all of that, we were about to get up, but he stopped us - presenting my wife with a boxed bouquets of flowers and a bottle of good quality Voyager Estate wine.
We're feeling pretty chuffed at this point. But now it gets better. We went to get the car which we were told was in the showroom. But when Scott stopped we couldn't see it. Scott pointed to a display stand with the sign reading in big letters "Donna's Car - Getz ..." etc with details. Cute, and we had a laugh, but it felt like a presentation. We looked in front of this sign and saw the car was completely covered by a dark coloured parachute-type of material. Grinning like teenagers (and we're, ahem, 50-ish), with flair he whisked back the cover to reveal a freshly washed and dried new car. How do you reckon my wife felt?
Not content, and after presenting Donna with the keys, he then spent a solid 20 minutes demonstrating all the features and even offering to set-up our Bluetooth connection for the phone.
Just before we were ready to go, he then said "Would you like a photo?" Why not! OK, it's not the world's best photo, but it was printed onto photo paper and placed inside a presentation folder pre-printed with Congratulations etc etc.
And did I mention the full tank of fuel?
What's my point? Someone has thought hard about this process. My guess is that the fuel, the flowers, the wine, the time, the reveal and the surveys etc all cost extra time/money and take a little preparation. Would it have changed our buying decision if we didn't get these? Of course not - we'd already bought the car. But did my wife feel special with her inexpensive new car? You betcha. Do you think we'll be telling people about the experience? I've just told you!
And no, I'm not associated with John Hughes. Not in the slightest - I confess I've always been a little anti that business because of the cheesy commercials. But I've now become a raving fan, and there's no doubt in my mind that they will be the first port of call for the next vehicle.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Man pops head above counter and fails!
I was doing a mystery shop for a funded piece of work recently, in which I had to visit a small shop, overlooking the sea but in a slightly run-down part of town. The retailer sells a commonplace but fairly technical household item that comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes, styles and energy options.
I found the shop relatively easily and it had made quite a good effort at standing out from its neighbours through some fairly bold signage outside and a reasonably well-maintained shop front. The window display was OK but not particularly eye-catching.
On entering the business my first impression was of a strong smell of stale cigarette smoke; not a great start! This was quickly added to by a fairly run-down feel to the interior, with tired and peeling paintwork and only a few lights on, giving quite a gloomy atmosphere. Given the hard time that the majority of retailers have had through 2009 due to the economic climate, perhaps some of this is understandable. Nevertheless, the poor first impression was now reinforced.
It's great to get an acknowledgement from a member of staff within the first 15 - 30 seconds of entering a shop; a smile will do and it makes you feel welcome. In this case, what I witnessed was a male face pop up from behind a counter and immediately disappear again, without any acknowledgement whatsoever. I guess my presence in his shop had been noted, however!
After browsing for a minute or so, I approached the counter where the face had appeared and found a man kneeling on the floor, tinkering with a stock item. This is when I spotted the ash tray and stale cigarette butts on the counter. I asked for some assistance and he looked up, got up and faced me. I asked him if it was possible to obtain a replacement part for my product at home, not knowing if it was an orderable item or required a custom-build. A few words of reply from the shopkeeper but with little if any eye contact suggested that I might be lucky. A minute or two of silence ensued as the store holder buried himself in a catalogue. Then, gazing past me out of the window onto a horizon that clearly held more interest than did I, his potential customer, he announced that my part could be obtained in three finishes and in 16" or 18", for "about fifty quid". I guess he felt that this was enough information for me and that he had done his job well. My own feelings were somewhat different by now!
Now, call me Mr. Picky, but I wasn't sure whether that measurement given was width or height. And what about depth and some of the other subtle details I needed to know? How to fit it, perhaps? Delivery options and timings? What did "about fifty quid" mean, did that include VAT? Since nothing more was being offered, I quizzed the expert further and received one answer, "height". I asked what to do if it it was too tall and it was suggested that I could cut bits off with a hacksaw. Hmmm... Can you guess what was going through my mind at this point?
I picked out a pen from my pocket and fumbled for a piece of paper which I could not find. I reiterated the two sizes, saying I needed to write them down, lest I forget. It would have been nice to have been offered the back of a fag packet to write them on but nothing was forthcoming.
So I bade him farewell and walked out of there as quickly as I could. Will I ever go back? Of course not. Would I ever recommend him to a friend or a relative? Of course not.
Now, would you not think that the mystery shopper report for this business was surely an incredibly valuable piece of feedback for the shopkeeper who was also the business owner? I wonder when was the last time that he really had the customer's perception of his business put to him. Probably never.
Well, the report was shared with him by a colleague of mine and, whilst he was looking at the horizon, busily avoiding eye contact, we learned from him the following:
1. Customers that come in are generally timewasters.
2. He hates customers that come in and who don't know what they want.
3. He must be doing something right because he sold 20 units last year.
Now, let's look at those three points a little closer.
1. Customers that come in are generally timewasters. Well, I guess a timewaster is someone who comes in and doesn't actually buy anything. I may be jumping to conclusions but I'd hazard a guess that the majority of visitors to this particular business have received roughly the same experience that I and my colleague received - cool, impersonal and unhelpful. Not to mention their perceptions from their first impressions of this business. I doubt that anyone received an experience that actually made them feel welcome, valued and helped them to buy. So yes, I can see how he might perceive the 95% who leave quickly without making a purchase to be timewasters!
2. He hates customers that come in and who don't know what they want. Errm, hello, Mr. Shopkeeper - you are putting yourself out there as a retailer and you are selling a fairly technical product. There are so many variables: sizes, aesthetics, colours, energy options, efficiency considerations, capital investment, lifetime cost of ownership, safety, environmental aspects, fitting options, fitting processes, compatibility options... And he hates customers who come in and don't know what they want? I would be surprised if any average Joe could work their way through this lot and actually know what they want when they visit. Time to wake up and smell the coffee?
3. He must be doing something right because he sold 20 units last year. I'm not an expert but a typical cost of a complete unit, retail is about £1,500. I would suggest that we need to revisit point 1, above! How many more could he, should he have sold if his attitude to his customers was better?! And how many of those people would have told other people of the great experience they'd had, increasing visits to the shop still further?
I think this is a great example of how to get it wrong in business. If we can deliver to our customers a great first impression, backed up by a warm welcome and a helpful, engaging experience, we're much more likely to help them to buy. And they'll go away delighted, telling others who'll want to come in to enjoy a similar, memorable experience!
If you're not sure how your customers perceive your business, we can help you find out. Find us at www.shopperanonymous.co.uk/contact/kent
I found the shop relatively easily and it had made quite a good effort at standing out from its neighbours through some fairly bold signage outside and a reasonably well-maintained shop front. The window display was OK but not particularly eye-catching.
On entering the business my first impression was of a strong smell of stale cigarette smoke; not a great start! This was quickly added to by a fairly run-down feel to the interior, with tired and peeling paintwork and only a few lights on, giving quite a gloomy atmosphere. Given the hard time that the majority of retailers have had through 2009 due to the economic climate, perhaps some of this is understandable. Nevertheless, the poor first impression was now reinforced.
It's great to get an acknowledgement from a member of staff within the first 15 - 30 seconds of entering a shop; a smile will do and it makes you feel welcome. In this case, what I witnessed was a male face pop up from behind a counter and immediately disappear again, without any acknowledgement whatsoever. I guess my presence in his shop had been noted, however!
After browsing for a minute or so, I approached the counter where the face had appeared and found a man kneeling on the floor, tinkering with a stock item. This is when I spotted the ash tray and stale cigarette butts on the counter. I asked for some assistance and he looked up, got up and faced me. I asked him if it was possible to obtain a replacement part for my product at home, not knowing if it was an orderable item or required a custom-build. A few words of reply from the shopkeeper but with little if any eye contact suggested that I might be lucky. A minute or two of silence ensued as the store holder buried himself in a catalogue. Then, gazing past me out of the window onto a horizon that clearly held more interest than did I, his potential customer, he announced that my part could be obtained in three finishes and in 16" or 18", for "about fifty quid". I guess he felt that this was enough information for me and that he had done his job well. My own feelings were somewhat different by now!
Now, call me Mr. Picky, but I wasn't sure whether that measurement given was width or height. And what about depth and some of the other subtle details I needed to know? How to fit it, perhaps? Delivery options and timings? What did "about fifty quid" mean, did that include VAT? Since nothing more was being offered, I quizzed the expert further and received one answer, "height". I asked what to do if it it was too tall and it was suggested that I could cut bits off with a hacksaw. Hmmm... Can you guess what was going through my mind at this point?
I picked out a pen from my pocket and fumbled for a piece of paper which I could not find. I reiterated the two sizes, saying I needed to write them down, lest I forget. It would have been nice to have been offered the back of a fag packet to write them on but nothing was forthcoming.
So I bade him farewell and walked out of there as quickly as I could. Will I ever go back? Of course not. Would I ever recommend him to a friend or a relative? Of course not.
Now, would you not think that the mystery shopper report for this business was surely an incredibly valuable piece of feedback for the shopkeeper who was also the business owner? I wonder when was the last time that he really had the customer's perception of his business put to him. Probably never.
Well, the report was shared with him by a colleague of mine and, whilst he was looking at the horizon, busily avoiding eye contact, we learned from him the following:
1. Customers that come in are generally timewasters.
2. He hates customers that come in and who don't know what they want.
3. He must be doing something right because he sold 20 units last year.
Now, let's look at those three points a little closer.
1. Customers that come in are generally timewasters. Well, I guess a timewaster is someone who comes in and doesn't actually buy anything. I may be jumping to conclusions but I'd hazard a guess that the majority of visitors to this particular business have received roughly the same experience that I and my colleague received - cool, impersonal and unhelpful. Not to mention their perceptions from their first impressions of this business. I doubt that anyone received an experience that actually made them feel welcome, valued and helped them to buy. So yes, I can see how he might perceive the 95% who leave quickly without making a purchase to be timewasters!
2. He hates customers that come in and who don't know what they want. Errm, hello, Mr. Shopkeeper - you are putting yourself out there as a retailer and you are selling a fairly technical product. There are so many variables: sizes, aesthetics, colours, energy options, efficiency considerations, capital investment, lifetime cost of ownership, safety, environmental aspects, fitting options, fitting processes, compatibility options... And he hates customers who come in and don't know what they want? I would be surprised if any average Joe could work their way through this lot and actually know what they want when they visit. Time to wake up and smell the coffee?
3. He must be doing something right because he sold 20 units last year. I'm not an expert but a typical cost of a complete unit, retail is about £1,500. I would suggest that we need to revisit point 1, above! How many more could he, should he have sold if his attitude to his customers was better?! And how many of those people would have told other people of the great experience they'd had, increasing visits to the shop still further?
I think this is a great example of how to get it wrong in business. If we can deliver to our customers a great first impression, backed up by a warm welcome and a helpful, engaging experience, we're much more likely to help them to buy. And they'll go away delighted, telling others who'll want to come in to enjoy a similar, memorable experience!
If you're not sure how your customers perceive your business, we can help you find out. Find us at www.shopperanonymous.co.uk/contact/kent
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