Afterword
 Do You Get a Second Chance to Be Your Customer’s First Choice?

We’ve been driving home the theme that one rarely gets second chances. It’s what you do with the first chance that counts. And because customers always stand ready to judge, every interaction is yet again your first chance—from which there may or may not be a second. So every interaction counts.

And count they do. Case in point: While on a consulting assignment, Don flew to Central Florida to meet with executives of Publix Super Markets. While renting his car, he asked for directions to the nearest Publix. The rental agent perked right up.

“Do you work for Publix? ” she wanted to know.

“No. I have a meeting at their offices.”

“Well, you tell them how much I like their stores,” she exclaimed.

Hearing this exchange, another agent came to the counter. She began singing the praises of Publix.

“I love their stores! When I can’t find something, the people who work there actually know where things are and they’ll take you right to them.”

As if these unsolicited testimonials weren’t enough already, a third rental car agent joined the spontaneous rally.

“I’ll tell you what I like about Publix—their people are friendly. They say, ‘good morning,’ and ‘thank you.’ They seem so happy. I go out of my way to shop at Publix. There’s a different grocery store right near my house, but all the employees do there is grunt—if you can get them to even look at you. I drive right past it whenever I can and go straight to Publix.”

With this praise-a-thon in full swing, a fourth rental agent interrupted a transaction with another customer at the far end of the counter. She came over and joined the chorus.

“I heard y’all talking about Publix. I love their bakery! And, you know, when I shop there I see the same employees year after year. In the other stores you often don’t see the same person twice. And their prices aren’t bad either, and I like . . .”

If this sounds a little fairytale-ish, we understand your skepticism. But it really happened—just the way we’ve described it. It was spontaneous, heartfelt, and totally unexpected. All someone did was ask for directions to the nearest supermarket, and the floodgates of happy testimonials came rushing out.

So what are your customers saying about you?

And what are you going to do to give them something to talk about?

Wrapping Up

Throughout this book, we’ve tried to leave you with a few points worth recapping here:

1. Your company will prosper or decline based on how customers perceive your customer service.
2. Great service stems from Personally Pleasing Memorable Interactions. Each customer interaction—often measured in just seconds—must stand the test of the Instant of Absolute Judgment. Each instant may have a lasting effect that is eternal.
3. Great service results from your entire organization being deeply committed to outstanding customer service—to satisfying customer needs and wants they didn’t even know they had. That kind of service isn’t a department, a program, or a slogan. It’s a way of life.
4. The many principles and methods we’ve talked about in this book—service standards, communication techniques, state-of-the-art technology, hiring, and so on—mean nothing if they aren’t part of an integrated whole: an organization where everyone truly believes they have a job that is only to happily serve and delight customers.
5. And most importantly, great customer service is a fluid state of perception. You’re only as good as your last customer interaction. Great customer service isn’t the result of a few excellent customer interactions. Great customer service is the result of consistently creating great customer interactions—time after time. Every failed moment of truth threatens to permanently negate several Personally Pleasing Memorable Interactions—and all of the hard work that went into them.

While the companies discussed in this book serve as examples of great customer service, they, too, have had their moments of inconsistencies. Still, they are proficient in customer service overall because they consistently remain vigilant. They make sure they understand their customers. They treat them with care and deal with them competently to provide interactions that ensure a positive outcome.

When such vigilance disappears, the level of service decreases. Customer satisfaction declines. Customers disappear. Ultimately, the business disappears.

The Way of the Happy Servant

When you consistently follow the path we’ve laid out between these covers, something wonderful happens. Your customers notice The Service Difference. And they respond. They return to buy again and again. And they become the most motivated, most credible, and most effective sales force for your company that you could ever hire.