Okay, show of hands…
Who else is sick and tired of companies touting so called “good customer service,” only to turn their back on you when you have a problem?
Like the other day when my wife went to get an oil change and some warranty work on our vehicle (that was supposed to take only 30 minutes).
Two-and-a-half hours later, they finally finished with the car. No apologies. Just a quick, “Here you go, Ma’am. You can pay at the counter over there.”
Needless to say, we will not be returning to that auto dealership (and will happily travel 30 minutes out of our way to their closest competitor).
So it’s completely refreshing when you hear a story like David Meerman Scott’s experience with Tumi.
Earlier this week, he told a story on his blog about having some trouble with his travel bag.
No big deal. After all, the bag was 4 years old and traveled over a million air miles; over the course of normal “wear and tear,” his retractable handle broke.
Like most people in his situation, David decided it was about that time to purchase a new Tumi.
After showing the salesperson his bag, she immediately offered to fix the bag for him – no charge.
Surprised and grateful for the gesture, because it would take a few days, he offered to pay to have his bag shipped back to his house – but the salesperson wouldn’t hear of taking one red cent from David for this repair.
She was determined to do whatever it took to earn a loyal customer for life!
Remember:
Customer loyalty is a byproduct of your loyalty to your customers.
Not only has Tumi won David’s heart and loyalty – but because the experience was out “out of the ordinary” and unexpected, he felt compelled to share his story with others (thousands of them).
His story definitely made me want to do business with Tumi.
Isn’t that true with you too?
Don’t you just love doing business with companies that go out of their way to make sure you’re not just satisfied, but happy to do business with them?
So if this is the way you feel about the companies you do business with, wouldn’t you think your customers feel the same way about doing business with you?
The more loyal you are with your customers – the more loyal they’ll be to you.
In your corner,
Charlie