CUSTOMER SPARK #5 - MIKE
Like many businesses, we are visited nearly every day by UPS, the delivery guys in brown. We've had the same UPS guy for a long time. It's hard to know for sure, but he may have been our UPS guy for a couple of years by now. He's always smiling and friendly, and we've had countless little conversations with him as we sign for packages.
And until this week, we didn't know his name.
Here's a guy we see daily, and he knows at least some of OUR names, but we've never bothered to learn his. Well, to be fair, our names are written on the packages, but still!
His name is Mike. We also learned that he's bowled a perfect 300 before. Who knows what else we'll learn now that we know his name?
The moment we asked Mike what his name was, our relationship became more personal to all of us. His whole body language changed. He actually looked happier. There was a bit more of a bounce in his step as he hopped back on the elevator. Think about it. Delivery guys have contact with hundreds of people a day, and rarely connect with any of them. Most people love connection. Crave it, actually. Don't get near enough of it.
Some people might say, "But he's not your customer, he's a delivery guy, a vendor." Well, if he walks through our doors, he's our guest, which makes him our customer. We may not be selling him our product, but we are selling him an impression. And he carries that impression of our company with him everywhere he goes.
What makes this our favorite spark of the day:
At only day 5 of our 100 SPARKS project, we have already expanded how we think about customer service, and who we consider a customer. We also made Mike's day. When you do something that truly lights up another person, that may just be the ultimate form of service.
And until this week, we didn't know his name.
Here's a guy we see daily, and he knows at least some of OUR names, but we've never bothered to learn his. Well, to be fair, our names are written on the packages, but still!
His name is Mike. We also learned that he's bowled a perfect 300 before. Who knows what else we'll learn now that we know his name?
The moment we asked Mike what his name was, our relationship became more personal to all of us. His whole body language changed. He actually looked happier. There was a bit more of a bounce in his step as he hopped back on the elevator. Think about it. Delivery guys have contact with hundreds of people a day, and rarely connect with any of them. Most people love connection. Crave it, actually. Don't get near enough of it.
Some people might say, "But he's not your customer, he's a delivery guy, a vendor." Well, if he walks through our doors, he's our guest, which makes him our customer. We may not be selling him our product, but we are selling him an impression. And he carries that impression of our company with him everywhere he goes.
What makes this our favorite spark of the day:
At only day 5 of our 100 SPARKS project, we have already expanded how we think about customer service, and who we consider a customer. We also made Mike's day. When you do something that truly lights up another person, that may just be the ultimate form of service.
This type of "spark" is my favorite. I love meeting new people and especially notice those who are often overlooked.
At SBX (they of the "legendary' customer service), we were encouraged to go above and beyond the expectations of the customer. One way I did this was by asking the names of the regulars. After working a few weeks, I started to notice familiar faces. So when Gary came in for his usual Tall coffee of the day, I was able to greet him by name and ask how things were going. It brought me a great deal of satisfaction to see our customers light up when they heard their name. They knew they weren't "just a number" with us.
My father, who was an amazing salesman, said, "A person's name is the sweetest sound to their ears." He may have gotten it from someone else, but it's a great reminder to remember we deal with people, not just their wallets.
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Funny story about names of delivery-people. I have always made it a point to learn the names of our housekeepers, mail carriers, and delivery folks. I work pretty closely with the truck driver who delivers thousands of cases of Coca-Cola products to our building for our student organizations and other campus events.
Trying to be slick, I asked the account manager what his name was, so that I could use it instead of saying "hey, dude" every time he was in our office. I was told his name was Gary.
Two years later, I found out his name was actually Greg. So not only did his account manager not know his name, but I had been calling him by the wrong name for TWO YEARS! Greg being the nice guy that he is, just responded every time, and never told me that his name was not really Gary.
To this day, I always hesitate before saying hello, since I almost never remember which name is correct. I may have even switched them in this comment.
I don't know if there is a lesson here, but Greg and I are still friendly so I guess he was at least grateful that I tried, which may be more than some of his other delivery points do.
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