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for Your Small Business

After my last trip, I wrote an article ranting about the bad service I have been experiencing lately in restaurants, shops and from a multitude of 'service' related businesses.

Well, I just got back from San Francisco – and was proven wrong.

The service was excellent! Everywhere we went it seemed to be 5 star friendly staff and commendable attention to detail (except for one – watch for that story tomorrow).

Not sure if it is because San Fran is such a tourist city – and everyone is trained to be nice or their incomes go away. Or maybe it was just an excellent example of good people

doing good things.

It made me think though, how can I (and you) implement these kinds of systems into our businesses to give our clients a "WOW" experience?

Things like:

Help lines from your website (free help for any questions they have. not emails which get lost and delayed, but LIVE help – right here and now).

Front line service people who are held ACCCOUNTABLE for the experience they provide (how can you measure their service, and reward them for exceptional service)

Grateful people in every part of your business. Why more people don't get this astounds me... your CLIENTS are the ones who pay your bills, cover your paychecks, and keep you in business.

So say thank you!

In cards, in person, after the sale, reminders of when they bought etc.

One thing I notice different in the US than in Canada (don't shoot me for saying this) is that Canadians are much more polite and thankful. We say thank you at every chance. Americans (in many cases I have noticed) don't say anything.

When I say thank you to someone in Canada, I get a "you're welcome"... in the US I hear "uh-huh". Minor to some people – something I notice EVERY time though.

Go out of your way to do something, anything, that you would like people to do to you. A small token of your appreciation. A little 'doo-hickey" to remind them of you.

Anything can go the extra mile to show your gratitude.

The power of saying thank you is huge!

By the way – thanksgiving is coming up – why not send thank you cards to everyone then? Christmas is typical, thanksgiving is not.

The opposite of saying thank you is to lose hundreds of clients with one big screw-up.

Watch for that San Fran story tomorrow.