Amaze your customers creative tips on winning keeping your customersAmazing my customers has become my passion, a passionthat I would like to share with you. Read this book and let itinspire you. It is the result of personal experience, of things Ihave heard or learnt, but above all, its insights are tried andtested.Every story told in this book is a true one. These are stories I,as its author, have either experienced myself or been told byothers. The fact that these stories are all true is what reallybrings this book to life and makes it so relevant. And so I dedicate this book to all those whose positive experiences with theart of amazing customers have helped make this such aninspiring book.
AMAZE your CUSTOMERS! creative tips on winning & keeping your customers daniel zanetti AMAZE your CUSTOMERS! Amaze Your Customers! is the result of a special collaboration between Kogan Page and Redline Wirtschaft, Germany’s leading business publisher Selected best-selling titles previously published by Redline Wirtschaft are translated into English and published by Kogan Page to ensure a worldwide distribution AMAZE your CUSTOMERS! creative tips on winning & keeping your customers daniel zanetti London and Philadelphia Publisher’s note Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or any of the authors First published in Germany in 2003 by Redline Wirtschaft as Kundenverblüffung: Kreative Tipps, wie Sie Ihre Kunden nachhaltig an sich binden First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2006 by Kogan Page Limited Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses: 120 Pentonville Road London N1 9JN United Kingdom www.kogan-page.co.uk 525 South 4th Street, #241 Philadelphia PA 19147 USA © Redline Wirtschaft 2003, 2006 The right of Daniel Zanetti to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ISBN 7494 4557 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zanetti, Daniel [Kundenverblüffung English] Amaze your customers! : creative tips on winning and keeping your customers / Daniel Zanetti p cm Includes index ISBN 0-7494-4557-2 Consumer satisfaction Customer services Competition I Title HF5415.335.Z36 2006 658.8’343—dc22 2005030518 Typeset by Jean Cussons Typesetting, Diss, Norfolk Printed and bound in Great Britain by Creative Print and Design (Wales), Ebbw Vale Contents Acknowledgements About the author Introduction Amaze your customers! Joe Friedmann Satisfied is not satisfied enough Offer more than the customer expects The desperate quest for uniqueness Welcome to the emotionless world of the customer A look in the rear-view mirror An astonishing metamorphosis – when a seller becomes a buyer They need to know you See things through the eyes of your customers and be innovative! ix xiii 5 10 11 13 16 17 17 vi Contents Courage, goodwill and consistency – an unbeatable trio A matter of timing The brand ‘Me’ Don’t forget to listen Critical questions on customer amazement strategies Joe Friedmann’s amazing experiences as a customer Make yourself at home No overhead projector required A little ‘light’ refreshment? With the compliments of the chef Taxi! Coffee, tea, mineral water, Coke, sandwiches 35,000 euros – and no takers Unleaded, please! Is the water temperature ok? The smallest room – a horror scenario Children welcome Pizza Quattro Cartone In the retirement home A trip to the mountains At the supermarket A set of snow tyres, please We hope you have enjoyed flying with us An overdose of perfume Cool Caribbean dream Wanted – fashion consultant 19 25 27 28 29 33 33 36 39 42 46 48 51 55 56 59 61 64 66 67 70 72 75 78 80 83 Contents vii Can I help you? Please hold the line Open wide! Take a seat in the waiting room I need help! Language lessons at the florist’s Cats would buy goldfish flakes When the boss makes a speech Project ‘Christmas gifts for our customers’ Fully booked The man from the insurance company Craftsmen wanted Two customers less 86 89 92 94 97 100 102 104 106 110 113 117 119 You need cheese to catch a mouse Pay effective compliments Complain, but it properly! 123 123 128 And the winner is … Win the ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’! The customer has the last laugh 133 133 Index 137 136 this page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who has amazed me and made my life as a customer sweeter over the last 38 years On my frequent trips, on business and for pleasure, I have again and again met people who, in their everyday lives, set an example of what this book is all about, namely providing outstanding service And if now and then the service is not so good, I have found a way to voice my frustration as a customer through the mouth of Joe Friedmann Thank you also to: My son Noah, the best thing I ever did He teaches me so much, and he has the whole of his amazing life in front of him I will be there for you, always! My partner Beatrice, whom I honour above all others and who is the focus of my life Your love gives me so much 132 Amaze your customers! defects, they would receive a pair of new shoes of the same quality immediately Their competitors rubbed their hands in glee when they heard this, convinced that this was going to be a huge marketing flop Far from it! After one year, the shoe company offering this guarantee saw that only 2.9 per cent of their customers took unfair advantage of their offer and demanded a new pair of shoes for no valid reason The other 97 per cent of their customers were so reassured by this offer that their brand experienced an image boost Of course, the marketing experts in the company had already thought about this before launching the campaign and had calculated their selling prices to cover losses of 3.5 per cent And the winner is… Win the ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’! Over the last few years, I have been able to convince many people of the effectiveness of my customer amazement strategy Many managers have introduced it in their companies, much to the benefit of their customers This gave me the idea for the ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’, which was presented for the first time in summer 2004 The award goes to the person who has amazed his or her customers most How it works On our website, at www.nzp.ch, you can describe how you, as a customer, have been most amazed and nominate the person 134 Amaze your customers! who amazed you with outstanding service You are not allowed to nominate yourself! The winner is selected by a jury of six (three women and three men) and is made up of customers, representatives of companies supplying goods and services, and me Both the person with the best customer amazement strategy and the person who nominates them win a prize The following are some of the criteria on the basis of which the jury make their decision: ● how amazed the customer was; ● originality; ● customer-orientation; ● the lasting effect of the strategy; ● practical relevance; ● the advertising impact; ● cost–value ratio; ● uniqueness Closing date The closing date is 31 May of each year Nominations can be made up to and including this date The ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’ was presented for the first time on 18 September 2004 in Lucerne And the winner is… 135 Procedure Nominations can only be made using the special form provided on our home page at www.nzp.ch The winner and their nominator will be notified by post and invited to attend the presentation ceremony in Lucerne The prizes The winner receives the ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’ in the form of a challenge cup and an amazing weekend in Switzerland The person who nominated them receives an amazing weekend for two in Lucerne Confidentiality All information supplied will be treated as strictly confidential Names will only be published with the consent of those concerned Cost Entry is free of charge Questions? For further information on the ‘Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award’, contact: Daniel Zanetti, NeumannZanetti & Partner, Huobmattstrasse 5, CH-6045 Meggen, Switzerland Tel: 0041 41 3797777, e-mail: daniel@nzp.ch, website: www.nzp.ch 136 Amaze your customers! The judges’ decision is final and no legal recourse is possible NeumannZanetti & Partner reserve the right to make alterations to any of the information given here without prior notice Please refer to our home page at www.nzp.ch for the latest details concerning this award The customer has the last laugh As a customer, you are the judge This puts you in a position of power You should not, however, abuse this power Be a fair and impartial judge You had to wait a long time for your spaghetti in a restaurant? Be generous; give the restaurant team another chance With hindsight, you will often see that the one time you had a long wait was an exception Mistakes happen And not only in restaurants Whereas I advocate giving people a second chance in the case of delays or quality defects, I demand the maximum penalty when it comes to unfriendliness And the maximum penalty is not reporting them, but to ignore them Take your custom elsewhere and tell as many people as possible what happened, where and how That way, other people won’t go there either and you will hit them in the wallet, where it hurts most No matter how unfriendly or unprofessional the treatment you receive, you will always be the winner in the end, because you are the customer! Index air travel 75–78 announcements 76 food 76 good experiences 77–78 safety procedures 76–77 birthdays (of clients) brand ‘Me’ 27–28 21–23 call centres 89–91 good experiences 91 music 89–90 option keys 89–90 recorded messages 89 transferred calls 90–91 car dealers 51–55 adverts 51 brochures 52 good experiences 53–55 test drives 52–53 Carnegie, Dale 23 children in restaurants 61–64 changing facilities, lack of 62 consideration for 62 cost of meals 63 good experiences 64 children’s club, staffed 64 kitchen tours 64 playground 64 high chairs, need for 62 Christmas gifts for customers see gifts, Christmas clothes, buying 83–89 138 Index cubicles 84 database errors/discount vouchers 7–88 good experiences 85, 88–89 alteration service 85 computer measurements 85 cubicle door sensors 85 customer measurements noted 88–89 online service 85 sales assistants 86 sizing 83–84 companies consumer awareness of 17–18 and customer amazement strategies 30–31 complaining 128–32 customer security, importance of 131–32 good experience: shoe company guarantee 131–32 staff pettiness 130–31 statistics on 129 tips on 129–30 compliments see effective compliments, paying 123–28 consistency 24–25, 30 courage 19–23, 25, 30 craftsmen 117–19 dirt and smell 118 good experiences 118–19 aftercare 119 cleanliness guarantee 118–19 timing assurances 119 illegible report 118 lack of care 118 Customer Amazement Award 133–36 closing date 134 confidentiality 135 cost 135 criteria for 134 how it works 133–34 prizes 135 procedure 135 questions 135–36 website 133, 135, 136 customer loyalty systems 20–21 notes on customers 21 customer-orientation 18, 25–26, 35, 106 customer relationship management (CRM) 11–12 Index customer(s) 11–13 actively satisfied 7, 8–9 Christmas gifts for 106–10 emotionless world of 11–13 expectations of 9–10, 29 and knowledge of companies 17 long-term relationships with 6–7 loyalty systems 20–21 mutual liking passively satisfied 7–8, as winners 136 dealing with people 24 defining customer expectations 9–10 dentists’ surgeries 92–94 good experiences 94 consideration for children 94 films 94 mouth sprays 94 incomprehensible bills 93 doctors’ surgeries see waiting rooms effective compliments, paying 123–28 139 courage, need for 124, 128 praising performance 125–26 example 126 rewards for prompt payment 125 shopping: good service 127–28 tips on 128 emotional experiences, offering 12–13 fashion see clothes, buying florists/garden centres 100–02 confusing/Latin flower names 101 cost 101 good experiences 102 instruction and name labels 102 plant care service 102 subscriptions 102 flying see air travel gifts, Christmas 105, 106–10 for customers 106–09 good experiences: creative gifts 109–10 140 Index new proposals 107–08 unasked questions 108 goodwill/mutual liking 23–24 hairdressers 56–59 good experiences 57–59 errands undertaken 58 hobby magazines 58 massage 58 photographs: before and after 58 remembering clients 59 TV 58–59 hospitals 97–100 early awakening 99 electronic bed 98 good experiences 100 reception 97 hotels 13–14, 33–36, 110–13 booking rooms 110–11 checking in 14–15, 34 checking out 15 customer-orientation, need for 35, 111 good experiences 112–13 reservations and videos 112–13 service 112 reception 33–34 rooms 34–35 unhelpful service 111–12 welcome 15 see also seminar hotels ideas to amaze your customers air travel 77–78 call centres 91 car dealers 53–55 Christmas gifts 109–10 clothes, buying 85, 88–89 craftsmen 118–19 dentists’ surgeries 94 doctors’ surgeries 96–07 florists/garden centres 102 hairdressers 56–59 see also main entry hospitals 100 hotels 35–36, 112–13 insurance 115–16 mountain railway 69–70 perfumeries 80 pet stores 103–04 petrol filling stations 56 pizzas and takeaways 65–66 Index rail travel 50 restaurants 44–46 restaurants and children 64 seminar hotels 39 seminars: coffee breaks 42 shoe stores 121–22 speechmaking 106 supermarkets 71–72 see also main entry tanning salons 80–83 taxis/taxi drivers 47–48 toilets 60–61 tyres/snow tyres 72–75 see also main entry innovation 17–18, 29 reasons for lack of 18 insurance 11–12, 113–16 cold-calling 113–14 customer’s time, wasting 114–15 good experiences 115–16 helpful agent 116 innovative insurance company 116 Joe Friedmann Customer Amazement Award see Customer Amazement Award listening 28–29 active 28 body language 141 28 marketing managers 11 money, spending 12–13 motivation seminars 125–26 mountain railway 67–70 good experiences 69–70 informative/helpful guides 69–70 lack of personal touch 68–69 stuffy uniforms 69 Perfume 80 perfumeries 78–80 good experiences 80 overdose 78–79 pet stores 102–04 good experiences 103–04 smell 103 stressed animals 103 petrol filling stations 55–56 good experiences 56 time, wastage of 55 pizzas and takeaways 64–66 good experiences 65–66 142 Index heated containers 65 specialist service 65 need to reheat 65 professionalism rail travel 48–50 good experiences 50 refreshments 48–49 toilets 49–50 waiters: manners and hygiene of 48 see also mountain railway restaurants 42–46 children in see children in restaurants good experiences 44–46 reception 42–43 service 43–44 smoking/non-smoking areas 62 retirement homes 66–67 clinical atmosphere of 66 good experiences 67 large print menus 67 likes and dislikes noted 67 pets and books 67 trips 67 signage and labelling 67 telephone keypads 66–67 thoughtless room arrangements 66 TV, awkward placement of 66 seller to buyer, metamorphosis of 16 seminar hotels 36–39 good experiences 39 registration 37 rooms and equipment 37–38 see also seminars seminars 39–42 coffee breaks/meals 40–42 good experiences 42 information 40 participants, problems for 39 service 16, 17–18, 29, 43–44, 74–75, 85 customer-orientated 18 good 102, 112, 127–28 high quality predictable 11 professional unhelpful 111–12 Index shoe stores 119–22 cost 120–21 damaged goods 121 good experiences 121–22 understaffing 120 shopping 12–13 speechmaking 104–06 content and length of speeches 104–05 good experiences 106 customer-orientation 106 strategies, customer amazement 29–31 benefits to companies/sales people 30–31 supermarkets 70–72 checkout questions 71 good experiences 71–72 clothing donations to charity 71 fitness campaigns: stairs vs escalators 72 outdoor activities in the store 72 loudspeaker announcements 70 tasting campaigns 70–71 143 tanning salons 80–83 change machines 81 good experiences 82–83 CD players 82 children’s play areas 83 refreshments 82 lack of tan 82 music 81–82 taxis/taxi drivers 46–48 cigarette smoke 47 good experiences 47–48 in Japan 48 luggage labels 48 luggage 47 manners and hygiene 46–47 timing assurances 119 of gifts/surprises 25–27 toilets 49–50, 59–61 dirtiness of 59–60 good experiences 60–61 graffiti and damage in 60 time spent in 59–60 on trains 49–50 trains see rail travel tyres/snow tyres 72–75 changing procedure 73–74 144 Index good experiences 74–75 discount system 74 services as standard 74–75 storage 74 unforgettability 27 uniqueness 10 waiting rooms 94–97 depressing 95–96 good experiences: lottery tickets 96–97 reading matter 95 this page intentionally left blank this page intentionally left blank ... published by Kogan Page to ensure a worldwide distribution AMAZE your CUSTOMERS! creative tips on winning & keeping your customers daniel zanetti London and Philadelphia Publisher’s note Every possible... establishing long-term relationships with our customers Another important point: we don’t work for just anyone That’s right: not everyone can become Amaze your customers! one of our customers That... your customers! : creative tips on winning and keeping your customers / Daniel Zanetti p cm Includes index ISBN 0-7494-4557-2 Consumer satisfaction Customer services Competition I Title HF5415.335.Z36