Every business has instances when they unintentionally disappoint or frustrate customers. When that happens to you, how do you handle it? Apologize and move on? If so, you’re missing a chance to build customer loyalty. Let me give you a case in point.
I’m writing this from Tucson, Arizona, where my husband and I have been thawing out from our exceptionally wintery Northeast winter. One of our favorite restaurants here is a cheery breakfast and lunch place called The Good Egg. Between their imaginative menu, top-notch food, reasonable prices and comfortable ambience, it’s no wonder that the waiting line often spills out the door and into the parking lot.
The Good Egg turns this potential annoyance into an opportunity to create fans. Not only does their waiting area include plenty of comfortable chairs and newspapers to read, but they offer free coffee while you wait – set up outside when necessary. It doesn’t take much for them to turn a frustrating wait into a painless, even enjoyable experience, and customers love them for it.
Can you, like The Good Egg, take a point of potential frustration – say, when the customer wants a particular plant that’s out of stock – and turn it into a plus? What can you do to ease their annoyance and keep them as fans, even if it takes the gardening equivalent of a free cup of coffee? It’ll be more than worth it in the long haul.
