Avionics News September 2015 - 46

series

BUSINESS BASICS
B Y

G R E G

L A S L O

Striking a chord
How to 'wow' your customers with exceptional customer service

store and an avionics shop, but the notion of service design -
hile recently visiting a friend who manages a
crafting the customer-service experience so you have the greathigh-end acoustic guitar store, a new customer
arrived looking for a repair. He carried a lowest chance of not just satisfying, but impressing, a customer - is
end knock-off of a hard-rock guitar, and while he wasn't sure
something to consider. Every day, businesses unwittingly lose
what was wrong with it, he'd apparently managed to do some
customers with bad service that doesn't meet their expectations,
damage.
and customers extract their revenge by sharing the experience.
Dave asked a few questions, got generally inconclusive
Keeping this from happening at your avionics shop requires
answers, and suggested a nearby shop that specialized in these
you to reflect on how to create customer-service practices that
instruments that might be a better
"wow" your customers from first
solution. The guy, clearly irritated at
touch to pickup, and it involves learning what these experiences comprise,
wasting his time, went on his way
Every day, businesses
in a huff.
as well as considering tactics that
Dave shrugged his shoulders.
help you achieve the end. With your
unwittingly lose customers
That's not good service, he said,
shop's reputation on the line, you
with bad service that doesn't
but it's also not the kind of work
can't afford to hit a sour note.
his shop does. Besides, the cusmeet their expectations, and
tomer will never be happy with
Experience counts
the repair, and he'll just have this
The ultimate goal of all cuscustomers extract their revenge
problem again - both because of
tomer service is to turn a one-time
by sharing the experience.
the instrument and what he intends
customer into a lifelong one, and the
to do with it.
key is creating an environment that
It was an awkward example of
leaves them in awe of your care and
competing expectations; this customer wanted something that
commitment, according to Adam Callinan, a small-business
the shop wasn't willing to promise it could deliver, and creating
advisor and venture investor. Doing this requires understanding
a little irritation now probably prevented more serious aggravawhat that service looks like, as well as why it's worth the effort.
tion for both later. In a sense, the shop had a good handle on its
The good news is that, in general, customers face a lot of
service strategy; it knew it wanted to serve niche customers, it
bad consumer experiences in their lives, which means the bar is
knew how it wanted to handle them, and right, wrong or otherpretty low, according to Callinan. In that sense, all you have to
wise, Dave stood by that.
do is provide better service than your competitors, provided it
Of course, there's not a precise correlation between a music
meets the bare minimum of satisfaction.
46

avionics news

september

2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News September 2015