With each customer, you only get one Moment of Truth. Will it be a sad moment or a "WOW!" moment?
Every time you talk to a customer, you have a "Moment of Truth," which can lead to a "Moment of Misery," "Moment of Mediocrity," or "Moment of WOW." At the "Moment of Truth," you can either make customers for LIFE or start your company's slow, painful death, one customer at a time.
Most business-to-customer interactions involve a "moment of mediocrity," which means that the customer's expectations were met, even if they were low. When a customer has a Moment of Mediocrity, they feel "satisfied," but they won't stay loyal to the company. These customers only stay with you because they haven't found anything better.
Every time you don't meet the customer's expectations, you give them a "moment of misery." Moments of Misery often cause customers to leave because of bad word-of-mouth advertising that is damaging and very convincing.
When you go above and beyond what the customer expects, you create a Moment of WOW. For the Moment of WOW to happen, the service must be really great, and the service provider must go "Beyond WOW." Moments of WOW build a strong base of loyal customers, which leads to growth, higher profits, and long-term value. (My new book, Beyond WOW, has a lot of ideas for how to make Moments of WOW. You can get it by going to Beyond WOW.)
Two years ago, I stayed in a corner room with an ocean view at a high-end hotel in Miami. I paid $179 for a one-night stay, so I had high hopes for the service. During my short stay, I had a lot of problems, but one, in particular, stands out. When it was time for me to leave, I called the Concierge to set up a ride to the airport. This Moment of Truth can be summed up like this:
Me, the Customer: "I need to be at Miami International Airport by 5 p.m. because my flight leaves at 6 p.m." Can you set up transportation for me through Super Shuttle? I thought it was a simple question.
"Ma'am, if you want a shuttle to the airport, you have to let us know at least 24 hours in advance." I can't get you on the phone. You can take a taxi, or for $99, we can set up a car for you."
Me, the "paying" customer: "Why do you need a 24-hour notice for a normal ride to the airport?"
Concierge: "It's how we do things. You can get a taxi, or I can set up a car for you. That's what you can do."
I, the customer/person who gives you a job: "Okay, can you just go against "procedure" for a minute and see if the shuttle can pick me up in eight hours?"
"I can give you the number, and you can call," said the concierge.
When I called Super Shuttle, the person who answered said, "Sure, the royal blue van will meet you right in front at 4:30." Look how simple that was! Why couldn't the Concierge just call and find out?
When I asked for a shuttle, the Concierge should have told me, "Ms. Golden, Super Shuttle usually needs a 24-hour notice, but I'll see what I can do." If I can't get you to the airport with the shuttle, we can take a taxi or a private car. Let me look into it, and I'll get back to you right away." This answer would have turned the Moment of Truth into a Moment of Meh, and I might have thought about staying at the hotel again. But my moment was Misery, and not only will I not go back, but I'll also spread bad word of mouth like every other customer.
You make a Moment of Misery every time you:
- Don't tell a customer "no" before telling them what you can do for them.
- Quote policy
- Don't follow through/don't follow up
- Don't make the customer tell their story more than once by transferring them.
- Reply to complaints in a way that is accusatory or asks questions.
- Don't take responsibility for things that go wrong.
- Fail to apologize to customers
- Tell a customer they are wrong, even if they are wrong.
- Stop serving a customer
- With each customer, you only get one Moment of Truth. What's the plan?
