And as for your current customers being "cheaper," well, don't you wish. "Once I get someone's money, I worry much more about that person than about someone I haven't sold to yet," Ron Jackson attests. Many of Jackson's customers trade up three times in six years. They start with a two-horse trailer at $2,500 and work their way to a deluxe model priced as high as $10,000. "I'm going to make more on that $10,000 trailer than on all the $2,500 ones."
A year ago, when Team One Plastics realized it had little need for cold calling, the sales team was rechristened "the customer-service department." Now, just about everyone who comes into contact with customers -- the quality team, order entry, shipping and receiving, even accounting -- reports to Team One's sales manager. Add up that overhead, and you know customer service doesn't come cheap. Yet Team One needs only one outside sales rep.
Maybe the hard truth is that it costs nearly as much to keep a customer, but the cost of your de facto sales force is money better spent.
ClichÉ: "If you keep your employees happy, you'll have happy customers."
You might find it in the Bible, right after the Golden Rule. If it weren't true, "I couldn't have moved my plant and still shipped close to 100%," says George Riggs, marveling at the ability of his 110 employees to work through a move during the season's busiest month. It's worth noting that Riggs relocated closer to his workers' homes. Furthermore, bonuses for production and attendance are distributed weekly, because, for a lot of 20-something workers, a year "is a long time to wait."
Love is not enough. The happiest of employees still need to be told how to deliver excellent service. "We teach manners right away," says Tom Wall, owner of Classy Chassis, an $830,000 chain of car washes based in Biloxi, Miss. Wall plunked down $35,000 for a full-time hiring and training manager. He reinforces lessons with bonuses for most cars washed and fewest complaints. "We tell young people they'll walk away with good skills for their next job," says Wall. It's clear they catch on. "Customers are always asking, 'Where do you get these kids?' I hear compliments wherever I go." He adds, "This is not a career-type job for many, but about 12 people have moved up, and 5 are managers."
Can customers tell the difference? Bess Herzog has no doubt. When an employee grumbles at a construction site, she's often too busy running the company to know. "If it's happening, customers are often the first to let us know, even if," as she says, "they don't realize what they're telling us."
IS EVERYONE HAPPY YET?
Quick ways to gauge customer satisfaction
Rachel's Bus Co. refers to the "off-peak principle." In the peak season, there are never enough buses, so there's plenty of business for everyone, explains president Rachel Hubka. "But after the peak, you end up with the accounts that really value your customer service."
Carneiro, Chumney & Co., a San Antonio accounting firm, encloses a short questionnaire with each invoice. It saves stamps, but there's another reason for doing it. "When a customer pays the bill, it's the ultimate evaluation," says managing partner Bob McAdams. Of those who return the card, only 1% give Carneiro less than a 4.2 rating on a scale of 5. "It's one more snapshot of how we're doing."
Team One Plastics, in Albion, Mich., involves its employee teams. "We often work with a dozen key people at a customer site of 100 or more employees. When problems occur, their 12 can talk to our 12," says cofounder Craig Carrel. "How we all interact is part of the give-and-take of building a relationship."
Classy Chassis, a chain of car washes based in Biloxi, Miss., balances its need for speed with "exit people" who check quality before customers drive off. And customers of its special detailing services (like hand waxing) rate performance. "We see 300 to 400 cars a day, so we focus on 10 to 25 at each of our car washes," says owner Tom Wall. Those who fill out a survey get 50% off their next wash. Demand for detailing work, a profit maker, has grown considerably.
Customer-comment cards are often served up with dessert, but Chef Allen's, a North Miami Beach, Fla., restaurant, tops them off with a phone call. "For parties of eight or more, we call the host of the party the next day to make sure it went OK," says owner Allen Susser. "We know with a big party we can lose control of what happens. The host of the party may not want to complain in front of others, and hosts tend to be important customers who spend a lot of money."
IS THERE REALLY ANY SUCH THING AS A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE?
Our apologies to Carl Sewell, author of Customers for Life. His ideal is becoming, well, a myth. The reason has little to do with customer service and plenty to do with our changing economy. These days, a customer for life is as likely as a job for life.
Manufacturer Team One Plastics expects to turn over some key accounts. Cofounder Craig Carrel plans on it. "Not all our customers are growing as fast as we are. If they're growing in their industry, it's OK, but even current customers will reach a point where they don't grow anymore." For competitive reasons, "sometimes we mutually agree to a limit on the business we do together."
The dream of a customer for life, though, still burns bright. It has just been edited a bit. "As long as we have a good two-sided relationship, if we both like how we work, then it's a customer for life," says George Riggs of Embroidery Services. He says his best customers "can give me hell, but they respect the way I react to it."
