Quote of the week:
"To be a truly customer-driven organisation, you must first achieve operational excellence. It doesn't help to love your customer - he won't love you if you don't perform." 
- Percy Barnevik, CEO, ASEA Brown Boveri 

Recommended book of the week:

The Only Planet of Choice 
- Phyllis V. Schlemmer & Palden Jenkins 

This week's customer service "moment of truth".

Correct spelling of customer's names.

So we’ve talked about the benefits of using and correctly pronouncing our customers names. So what about correct spelling?

In my customer relationship management seminars, I ask participants how to spell John Smith. Not surprisingly, the first response is J.O.H.N. S.M.I.T.H. Within seconds, alternatives are being called out. The flipchart ends up something like this:

Now I am the first to admit that the likelihood of a customer of Spanish German extraction named Juan Schmidt walking through your doors is pretty remote, yet the exercise serves to demonstrate that here are at least 36 versions of how a name as common as John Smith can be spelt.

As we all know there are many variations on how individual names can be spelt. My own name Graham can also be spelt Graeme and Grahame. And, like most people, I prefer my name to be spelt the same way my parents chose to spell it all those years ago. Yet what never ceases to amaze me is how often people just proceed to write down my name without any reference to me as to which way my name is spelt.

Now I personally am not overly concerned when somebody does spell my name the wrong way, however when they do I can’t help but begin to question aspects of the person’s character or wonder if there are other holes in their company’s service delivery system. And just because I am not too fussed, doesn’t mean that some customers aren’t. For some it is enough to take their business elsewhere.

Once again the cost of obtaining the correct spelling of a customer’s name is zero. Questions such as "is that Ann with or without an ‘e’?" or "is Terry spelt with a ‘y’, an ‘i’ or ‘ie’?" is all that is required. Simple questions maybe, but oh what a difference they make.

Why? Because asking a customer how to correctly spell their name is a simple demonstration of how much you care. Showing that you care is singularly the quickest way to build a successful customer relationship. Continuing to care is also the fundamental key to further developing and maintaining the relationship.

So why not take a few seconds and check that you have spelt your customer’s name correctly.

Until next week, stay true to yourself and to your customers. And remember great customer service relationships happen by design, in the moment, moment by moment.

Graham Harvey APS