Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 11

Are Your Customers ‘Leaf’-ing?

Fall leaves are a lot like customers. They typically don’t depart simply due to the lure of a competitor like gravity invites a leaf to the ground. They are pushed out by the negative force of poor or indifferent service.

All my life I thought that Fall leaves departed the tree because they got too old to hang onto the branch and gravity bested their grasp. It does not work that way. Peter Raven, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a renowned botanist, reports that trees literally...

Are Your Customers “Leaf”-ing?

Fall leaves are a lot like customers. They typically don’t depart simply due to the lure of a competitor like gravity invites a leaf to the ground. They are pushed out by the negative force of poor or indifferent service.

All my life I thought that Fall leaves departed the tree because they got too old to hang onto the branch and gravity bested their grasp. It does not work that way. Peter Raven, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a renowned botanist, reports that trees literally...

Customer Service Week – Friday Hero

How would you feel if the grand opening of your new upscale steakhouse restaurant was in the fall of 2008? As your doors were opening, the Dow was falling 3600 points. Discretionary income was suddenly zero. And, your patronage was only 10% of what normal time would have produced.  That was the situation faced by Mark and Terri Stark, owners of Stark Steakhouse in Santa Rosa, CA.  This is their story:

“We were having to throw out pricey food since the shelf life of a fresh quality steak is li...

Customer Service Week – Thursday Hero

Neighborhood Cleaners on Lake Oconee has been my dry cleaners for a few years. Like all great dry cleaners, they pick up and deliver if you prefer. They are as ecologically sensitive as they are interpersonally friendly. They’ll do off-the-beaten-path requests like fixing a tear, hem a skirt, or scotch guard your sofa pillow covers. They also do great recovery if there is a service hiccup.

One time one of their cleaning machines got rebellious and ripped a hole in my pricey dress pants. They...

Customer Service Week – Wednesday Hero

Georganne Mires at Colwick Travel in Dallas has been my travel agent for over twenty years. When my friends chide me about why I don’t have tons of money by booking my flights and hotels on Tripadvisor, Orbitz or Expedia, I just tell them a Georganne story.

“Assume you landed late at midnight in Columbus and your flight connection to Chicago has long gone. All the following morning flights have already been booked by passengers whose flights were canceled before you arrived. Can your travel a...

Customer Service Week – Tuesday Hero

I walked into the restaurant at the Park Inn west of Harrisburg, PA. From the back of the restaurant I heard, “Good morning, how would you like your coffee?” When I said black, the voice warmly responded, “Take any table you like and I’ll have your coffee there before you can sit down!”

My day was off like a colorful merry-go-round!

“I’m Sandy. Do I get the pleasure of serving you today?” she asked as she served my coffee and handed me the menu. The breakfast was perfect and served quickly. P...

Customer Service Week—Monday Hero

Today is October 2nd. National Customer Service Week will be this week–October 2-6. Over the next five days, I will celebrate heroes who deliver over-the-top innovative service. And, I start with a master shoe repair person—David Cooper!

I took my beloved Lucchese boots to McMillan’s shoe repair store for new soles and heels. Leaving them in the hands of a stranger was no doubt like leaving your hand built, perfectly restored sports car with a new mechanic. When I returned a few days later, t...

Plain Vanilla Service Sucks!

I have a true confession; I almost always go for the “off the beaten path” choice.  Tried and true is typically trumped by “I’ve never had that before.”  So you can imagine my reaction when the waiter seated us and handed us the breakfast menu with the announcement: “The buffet is a much better value than a-la-carte.”  But when he observed my nonplused reception he added, “…but, none of the local flavors are on the buffet.”

So, what did his announcement really mean?  He meant that very good f...

Special Delivery Service

I pulled into the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot and what to my wondering eyes should appear?  The sign you see above.  Two special parking spots reserved for “Veteran Parking Only—Thank You for Your Service.”  Since I am a proud veteran, I pulled my SUV into the parking space and smiled. But, here is the best part.  My wife, who is not a veteran, commented, “Sure makes me want to come back!”

Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  Obvio...

Insuring Swimming Pools Against Theft

I recently had my car served. When I looked at the bill, it showed a charge for a front end alignment.  It just so happened that the week prior to this routine oil change, I accidentally ran over a curb and took the car into the same car service business for a front-end alignment.  When I asked for an explanation of the charge, the service person said, “We always do a front-end alignment when we do a routine oil change.” When I mentioned they had done an alignment just the week before, he adv...