The personal connection and valued interaction will always be the tipping point for getting clients to follow you and become a Raving Fan.

Thanks for the article!

Nevertheless, I believe “hella drama” could be looked at like shorthand between, uh, peeps. For example, take a look at these two scenarios, then YOU decide.

Scenario 1:

Me: What is going on at this time, in this place, up in here, that is in some way affecting you, my acquaintance?

Ramit: Well, there is a dramatic turn of events playing itself out even as we speak, and, to be dead honest, it makes me somewhat uncomfortable, because I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel right now, which is causing a significant amount of internal tension. That is the low down on the skinny, my home skillet.

Scenario 2:

Me: ‘Sup?

Ramit: Hella Drama.

Which would YOU rather interpolate? And yes, I said interpolate on purpose and everything. By the way, I could enrich the above exchange pretty easily and still be economical with my words. Watch and learn:

Scenario 3:

Me: ‘Sup?

Ramit: Hella Drama.

Me: Say it!

See? It’s almost like being psychic, but without per minute fees.

Now, to the meat of the moment. Some have commented, fairly, that there are occasions when you can’t get the best customer service because the lowly, sad sack, hourly, not particularly motivated to be here, etc. and so on employee is prevented from fixing what ails you because of policies, or procedures, or @!&%head (rhymes with thick, um, bread) bosses, or whatever, and all these things are true, but they’re just symptomatic of the real, actual problem which is that you either like your customers or you don’t, and if you do, you try to make everything easy for them, you try to be helpful to them, and, whenever there’s a roadblock, of any kind, you eliminate it FOR them. It’s pretty simple. It is NOT rocket science. Hell, it’s not even First GRADE science. It’s what you learn when you’re three (unless you’re particularly resistant, as I was, then it takes longer). It’s being nice to other people, sharing your toys, saying please and thank you, and all that other crap, I mean wonderful stuff that you were taught so you could survive in the company of people without getting the stuffing knocked out of your gullet, or being ostracized.

Sadly, we’ve gotten away from holding these companies accountable. We TAKE the abuse when we should be going back and shrieking about it. Ramit’s right about the diffusion effect, but I think it’s higher. . .maybe 12 to 15 people. And by the way, if you aren’t telling 12 or 15 people about your awful experience, YOU should be ashamed.

Moreover, this business with Best Buy blows my mind. But, it makes a lot of sense. I don’t like Best Buy, and wouldn’t shop there if the products were free. Again, they violate the basic “you either like your customers or you don’t” rule. Best Buy claims to have a return policy, but they charge you if you return items. They call it a “restocking fee.” Why do I have to pay a restocking fee? You have stock people already. I know this, because I often see them stocking the shelves. The only reason to charge a restocking fee is to punish the person returning the item, but that’s not okay, because, if you had done your job correctly, and sold them the item they needed for the specific purpose they wanted to use it for, it wouldn’t have turned into a return in the first place, so, essentially, when you charge me a restocking fee, you’re charging me for your failure to do your job.

Now it is true that not every single person who buys something is necessarily a good person, and there ARE people out there who’ll try to take advantage of you, but I think it’s worth the risk to just factor those “roadbumps” into the math when you’re thinking about what to charge for your product, and treat everyone like you trust them. Especially since, mathematically, the people who’ll do the right thing massively outweigh the few scumbags who won’t.

Compare your typical Customer Service experience with my recent experience with Remington Corporation (dialog is very SLIGHTLY changed for convenience, and to maximize clarity):

Rem: ‘Sup?

Me: Dude, the foil on my razor fell out and now it won’t work.

Rem: Dude, that’s teh sux. Wh’appen?

Me: Dunno. Went to shave one day and it was popped. Went back to SuperDuperMaxiMegaMart, and they’re outty.

Rem: Didja catch the model number?

Me: Yeh, it’s the ISUX-1000 combo shaver and meat grinder.

Rem: Sorry, dude. I’ma send you another one. Be there, like, four days tops.

Me: Awesome. You da best.

Rem: Ja! Air Bump!

Me: Air Bump! [BOOSH!]. Laterz.

Rem: Laterz.

And that was it. Faster than you can fix a hitch in your giddy-up, I got a box from Rem, a nice note, and a brand new SUX-1000 to call my very own. Guess who loves, Loves, LOVES Rem? And, since then, I’ve bought prolly four or five new products from them, and told the story to dozens of people including all of you.

Now, that could have gone a whole ‘nother way, but if it did, I certainly wouldn’t be talking about how easy it is to do business with Rem, and I wouldn’t be praising them to all of you, and so on.

With this in mind, who do you think has a better chance of selling to existing customers, converting maybes to definites, and securing long-term profits over and above what it cost them to make good on a customer issue, Rem or Best Buy? Think hard, it’s on the test.

I LOVE the concept of “The Last Mile.” I may even steal it (with full credit of course). But whether you call it The Last Mile, or Goodwill, or The Golden Rule, or Customer Centricity, or even just “The Customer Experience” (whatever that is), it comes back to what we were talking about just above. . .either you like customers or you don’t, and the way you treat them tells them how you feel.

For the record, I think the boy should’ve given the extra stamp, told his boss about it, and stood his ground. Going the extra mile, or even the extra stamp, for a customer is always good business, whether the powers that be understand that or don’t.

Warm Regards,

James.

Thanks for your insight. (And hella drama? o_O)