I have the honor of being the primary helper to my Granmother. Helper is the operative word really - though I’m not sure who is helping who. At age 89 she still works 25 hours a week, drives where she wants, and actually helped me when I was near death. She’s quite a woman. So when she asked me to help her find a new car, how could I refuse?
We went shopping and eventually found that Toyota Camry fit the bill, an older, very basic one. With low mileage, a great used car warranty and a very friendly service staff (proved out by how they dealt with people I knew from both genders and a span of ages) I knew she’d be in good hands. So then we drove it home. Happy yes?
Then the phone calls started…
“How do you make the lights turn on?”
“How does it start, it’s locked and I can’t get it to start”
“You know, I couldn’t find out where to open the gas from”
…and so on it went until she looked at me and said, “why don’t they teach you how these things work anyway?”
It’s funny, a simple version of a car you’d think would be no issue to operate became a big issue. Now my Granmother is smart. She can talk politics, remember where her keys are, and whip up a mean batch of fried chicken. But sometimes no matter how smart you are, even the simplest of new equipment or services can be confusing. And that confusion can lead to dissatisfaction by customers for your product or service. So what to do?
Training! Also better known as “hand holding” could have made the difference in how she felt about her car, her purchase, and the person she purchased it from. Indeed, all three things are keys for customer satisfaction and for repeat business and referrals. Never forget that business is really about people. People buy from people.
You can do a simple, optional training program for any service or product really. Even the simplest of services or products could be enhanced in such a way. The key pieces for such a program are:
- An overview of what the thing or service is - even if you’ve told them already what it is when you sold it to them, repeat it. Repetition helps learning
- Talk about the key features and how best to access them (is there a button to push, a number to call, a special code word to use?)
- Talk about some hidden tips on how to get the best from those features, or from that service. Letting people feel they are on the inside track, privy to some secret info on how to get the most from the product or service they bought, makes them feel valued. Valued people buy more, come back again or tell their friends to come to you.
- Finally, talk about what to do to get help from your company if they are dissatisfied. Give them YOUR card and number, then your managers. Let them know they have advocates on their side. They didn’t just buy something from you, they bought you!
I’ll be doing that training for my Grandmother of course. But had the dealer done it she would have smiled more broadly when she walked out the dealership door. Help your customers walk away with a smile too, you’ll feel better about your job and the customer’s will feel better about buying even more from you.
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