Earlier this week Hank & I were on our walk and I was listening to the This American Life podcast called “Cops See it Differently.” It was interesting to listen to BOTH sides of the story on this incredibly complicated and controversial matter. And I started thinking of it from a business perspective too. When police officers showed up in a neighborhood and asked questions and asked “hey can you call in when you hear gunshots? We’re here to help you and stop that from happening,” the neighbors would agree to do it, and started to see them as HELPFUL.
We aren’t hearing much in the way of helpful officers these days, which is the point of the podcast episode, talking about ways they’re trying to change in communities.
Two weeks ago while I was getting the house coordinated I had to call Comcast (queue terrible music now), and was SHOCKED when I had a great experience with them. I had a question about a promotion and our upcoming transfer. He answered my questions, I wasn’t on wait for long and I left pleasantly surprised that Comcast left me feeling good about my experience.
As a business owner it’s easy to get caught up and drop the ball on a piece of the project or with a certain client. I know I’ve done it. But by changing that and providing GREAT customer service you can change the mind of someone really quickly. All you have to do is start. Don’t tell me you’re going to start (like my pet peeve of “enjoy our monthly newsletter,” once and then never to be heard from again…) JUST DO IT. Show me don’t tell me. Provide the kind of service you expect from others. We don’t continue to hire people who provide bad service, unless you’re locked into a contract (ahem, cell phone companies, alarm companies, DocuSign, etc.).
You can turn around that cranky client by simply showing up and doing what you’re supposed to do. Try it.
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