Our expectations are at an all-time high. We are more demanding than ever with growing affluence. We are spoilt for choice. Ask yourself as a customer, do you bother to take time to tell people exactly what you want? The answer is most probably “No”. You would expect the quality or service you want for whatever it is you’re buying and you expect the other party to know. 

I was with a close buddy recently who wanted steak for dinner. We went to this restaurant in mid town and ordered a rib-eye and sirloin steak complete with soup, salad, red wine, and dessert and coffee to end off. He preferred his steak done medium-well while I like mine well-done as usual. 

When our soup was served, it wasn’t hot. In fact, it tasted like it was mass produced and left on the kitchen stove for some time. The garlic bread that accompanied it was no better. It wasn’t freshly toasted and soaked of melted butter.  Twenty minutes later, our steaks arrived. Mine was almost burned (I could tell even with the brown mushroom sauce over it) while his was clearly rare when he cut it. Meanwhile, the waiters were busily serving other diners. I suggested we have his steak sent back to the kitchen but he said to forget about it. 

Thirty minutes later, we asked for the bill. The restaurant manager presented us the check and enquired if everything was to our satisfaction. My buddy simply replied, “Fine, thanks” and the manager happily moved on. 

“Fine! Why didn’t you tell him your steak was served practically raw fit for the lions? They messed up your steak and you said fine?” I protested. “Oh, I can’t be bothered. I’ll just make sure I don’t come back,” he replied with certainty. 

Here is the scary situation. The manager thinks everybody is happy while the customers are thinking, “We are not ever going to come back here again!” My friend did not even register his dissatisfaction on the customary customer satisfaction form located at each table. 

So how do you know what your customers are thinking about you? Just because they are silent does not necessarily mean they are happy. 

What can you do? 

• 1. Openly and habitually seek feedback from your customers – good or bad.
• 2. Even if your customer should reply that everything is fine, still ask “If there is one thing we can do better, what would it be?”
• 3. In the feedback card, use words like “Please give us your honest comment. We love feedback as it will help us serve you better.”
• 4. Then go to work on improvements based on the feedback received or your customers will know sooner or later that you are insincere about improving. 

And finally, if you do get customers who complain, remember to thank them. They are probably speaking on behalf of many dozen other customers who thought similarly but didn’t tell you. Learn from it and make sure you win them over and keep them coming back. 

If you like this article, please subscribe to our blog and get our Free Report on “10 Secrets to Successful Employee Engagement”.  

Written by Robert Chew

Principal Consultant & Corporate Trainer 

Website: www.quartonmanagement.com

During our Personal Development Night (the first wed of the month), we listened to Jim Rohn’s Teachings about Personal Development. He shares how learning about sales and marketing has changed his life and earned him a lot of money. People pay a lot of money to listen to him, but I got access to his materials for the price of a cup of coffee a day!

Here are some important principles that apply to your business and life:

1. Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living, but profits make you a fortune!

2. Use stories to share with your friends. They are impactful and touches the hearts of people. Personal stories are great because people usually remember stories.

3. The Magic of Part-Time is a great recruiting tool for MLMers. Eg, I earn xxx from this part time job. or This vacation was paid for by my part time job. If you earn another $1000 from a full time job, nobody wants to know about it, but if you earn $1000 from a part time job, everyone wants a piece of it!

4. Its not what happens that determines your life future, its what you do that determines your life future.

5. Opportunity is always mixed with Difficulty.

6. For things to change, I have to change.

7. Don’t wish it was easiler, wish you were better.
Don’t wish for less challenges, wish you were wiser

8. If you do something enough, a ratio will appear- The law of averages always appear. (Useful for sales people to know)

9. I make up for numbers for what I lack in skill.

10. To Achieve Greatness- Service to Many leads to Greatness.

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