Good Customer Service is Expected

I think we all know what constitutes good customer service because we are all somebody's customer, and we know when we get it and we know when we don't get it. Good customer service can basically be summed up by the Golden Rule: Treat customers as you wish to be treated yourself. And yet, as we have all experienced, many businesses fail to deliver good customer service and lose our business as a consequence.

I think it used to be that good customer service was so rare, you stood out from the crowd just by providing it. But good customer service is no longer enough to ensure success. Customers expect it, and if it is not delivered, customers don't come Back. When I go to a restaurant and the service is bad or the food cold, I don't make a scene and then complain to the manager. I just don't go back to that restaurant.

Provide Customer Satisfaction

The phrase "Customer Service," is often expressed now as "Customer Satisfaction". And satisfying customers today requires going beyond the basic. We have to "WOW!" customers. Customer Satisfaction ultimately leads to Customer loyalty and through that to customer retention. In today's market place, prices for services and products are often very competitive. Loyal customers are far less likely to price shop. Excellent customer satisfaction earns word of mouth referrals and conversely bad customer service earns a negative reference.

It is far more expensive to develop new customers than to retain existing customers. New customers are hard to find. You have to invest a lot of time and energy into cultivating them. And you have to go through several new customers to find the few who are truly a pleasure to deal with and profitable at the same time.

We use several analogies in describing our business. One analogy we use is that we are running a sort of boarding school, and as the headmaster, we are asking parents to entrust the safety, well being, and the futures of their children to us. So it isn't enough to promise a high standard of academics. That is a given. We also must deliver a standard of caring for the individual needs of both the child and the parent.

Several years ago, I went to the Parent/Teacher conference at the private school in which my daughter was enrolled. She was generally doing very well in school and each of her teachers gave glowing reports, which naturally makes a father beam with pride. When we got to her French teacher, she told us that my daughter had an "A" in the course, and moreover was a delight to have in class, was always prepared and always participated. We said that was good to hear, especially since that was the only class we heard her speak of negatively. In fact she said she "hated" French and had wanted to drop the course. I fully expected the teacher to say, "Oh, don't worry about that. She's doing great. You know how teenagers are.", But instead she said, "That concerns me. If she's not happy, we have a problem. Let me call in the Headmaster to discuss what we can do." And I realized right then that all the money we paid for tuition was money well spent. They weren't concerned only with customer service, that is - that she was learning French, weather she liked it or not. They were concerned with customer satisfaction. They wanted her to love learning.

We also sometimes talk about our boarding operation as like being in the hotel business. Whether I stay at a Motel-6, a Holiday Inn, or a 5-Star Hotel, I have a right to expect a clean room, comfortable bed, hot water, Telephone, TV. If I want a marble lobby, turn down service, and Concierge Service, I understand that will cost more. I don't mind that, if I get what I pay for.

We once flew in to San Francisco after an all night flight that arrived at 5:00 am. We got to the hotel, one of the most expensive and prestigious hotels in the city, around 6:00 am. We were told that our room would not be ready until after noon. The restaurant didn't open until 7:00. We sat down on a comfortable couch in the sumptuous lobby and soon fell asleep. A hotel security guard promptly woke us up to inform us that sleeping in the lobby was not allowed. We explained that we were guests at the hotel, had just arrived after an all night flight and that our room was not yet ready. He was not sympathetic, merely repeating that it was against hotel rules to sleep in the lobby. We asked if there were another room with a couch we could sleep on. He said there was not, and that if we couldn't stay awake he would have to ask us to leave. We went for a Walk. Needless to say, we will never go back to that hotel and would advise anyone we know going to San Francisco not to stay there.

On the other end of the spectrum, we once flew into Zurich, also on an overnight flight arriving very early in the morning. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told our room would not be ready until after noon, but they had a small room where we could take a shower and take a nap. In addition, when we awoke, we would be treated to a free lunch in their restaurant. After a shower, a nap, and a lunch, we went to the desk and were told that our luggage had already been moved to our room and they had upgraded us at no charge, for our inconvenience. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to go to Zurich again, but you can bet where I'll stay if I do.

Customers cannot be satisfied until after they are not dissatisfied. Your first service priority should be to eliminate all the opportunities for dissatisfying customers, because they are what cause customers to leave. Then you can invest in satisfying them. Customers aren't going to be satisfied if they consistently have a hard time reaching someone. They won't be satisfied their horses don't receive good care. They're not going to be satisfied if their horses suffer preventable injuries and illnesses. They're not going to be satisfied if they can't get a straight answer to a direct question. We can't help that some mares don't get in Foal, that some foals get sick, that some yearlings die. But we can make sure none of these things happen because of carelessness or inattention to detail. And you can make sure your client is fully informed.

Communicate With Your Clients

Communication is an essential part of any relationship. Today, we have a number of mediums through which we can communicate: telephone, cell phones, pagers, fax, letters, voice mail, and e-mail. Some of our clients like to talk almost every day. Some want to talk about their horses and the horse business only. Others want to talk about their children or the news or the weather. Some only want to know everything that happens to their horses and some don't want a phone call unless its an emergency. Some want regular detailed written reports either by fax or e-mail. Others want only bottom line information. We try to find out how often and through which medium each client prefers to communicate. We also think it important to establish relationships and communicate with their Administrative Assistants, Secretaries, Managers, and Trainers.

We always call to let clients know of significant events concerning their horses. A few years ago, we found ourselves handling too many phone calls from clients asking us if their Mare had foaled yet, what was the foaling date, what was the last breeding date, was she in foal? This was in spite of the fact that we had previously called them to give them the information, often on several occasions. Sometimes the calls were because they just didn't write it down or keep track of it. Sometimes the calls were because after we provided the information to one source, it didn't necessarily filter through their organizations to all the people who needed to know.

So we created an Automated Notification System that sends a notice to clients whenever one of their mares has foaled, when she has been bred, whenever a mare has had a pregnancy exam, whenever a horse arrives on the farm or departs from the farm. This is not instead of a phone call, but in addition to one. The client can determine whether they prefer the notification to be in the form of a fax or e-mail, and they can instruct us to copy as many people within their organizations as they wish with this information. The notice is generated automatically when the information is entered in the horse's record, so it requires no time or effort on our parts. And all interested parties have a written record of the event.

We also provide an On-line Portfolio that allows all clients to access a list of their horses boarded with us and see up to date information on the reproductive status of each mare as well as recent photographs and Conformation notes on their foals and yearlings. The feedback from our customers has been overwhelming and fantastic. They absolutely love it. We are now polling them to find what other information or services we can add to this system.

One of the quickest ways a business can turn me off is to have the phone ring interminably when I call, and then either be immediately put on hold or else to find myself in an endless loop of automated features that won't let me speak to a human being. That's just one of my pet peeves. I must be the only person in the world who is bothered by this, because more and more business seem to provide this kind of "customer service". (And they always say, "your call is important to us"!) Well, they aren't satisfying this customer.

We have a very firm policy of a human being answering the phone promptly, twenty-four hours a day, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year. How long can you stand to be on hold before you start to get annoyed? Not very long, I bet. Don't put people on hold and leave them there. Of course, not everyone can get put through whenever they call. But how you handle the call can make a huge difference in their experience.

"He's busy right now. Please hold." (followed by long silence punctuated by an occasional beep) doesn't make me feel very good. I'm busy too.

"He's on another line right now. I think he may be a while. Would you like to leave a message or would you prefer to hold? Perhaps someone else could help you?" goes down a lot better.

We also have a firm policy of placing a high priority on returning phone messages, and responding to mail, e-mail and faxes in a timely manner. Do you know people who never return messages? How does that make you feel? Do you know people who always call you right back? Don't you like that better?

Have any of you ordered on line from L.L. Bean? They have a customer service feature that is hard to beat. If you have any kind of question about ANYTHING, a product, an order, something you ordered from them last year, you can get on line help. You type in your question, and within one minute, someone is typing back at you. And I have always found them completely knowledgeable, very friendly, and very helpful. Once an order I had placed had failed to arrive. I typed out at them that I had not received my order. They typed back that their records indicated it had been delivered. I repeated that I had not received it. They said they would send it again, but that the record said the package was left on my front door the day before. Now, I NEVER go in my front door and the UPS guy knows to deliver to my back door, but I went to the front door and Lo and Behold, there it was. Now, that's customer satisfaction!

Imagine this. You get a call telling you that your foal has a joint infection and the Veterinarian is recommending humane destruction. Upon questioning, you find out the foal has had this condition for a few weeks. Moreover, he has been in the clinic for that period at a cost of $2000. You are told that everything humanly possible has been done for this foal, but to no avail. "It's just one of those things. Bad luck."

Now, imagine the same scenario. But this time, you are called on the first day to say the foal was noticed that morning with an inflamed joint, the vet was called, tapped the joint, and suspects an infection. He recommends taking the foal to a clinic for treatment. He estimates the cost to be in the neighborhood of $1500 or more, depending on response. The prognosis at this point has to be guarded, depending on the response to treatment.

You get a call the next day saying that the organism has been cultured and a particularly nasty bug has been isolated. Sensitivity to antibiotics has been determined, and the foal started on treatment. The white blood cell count is still quite high.

You are kept informed every few days that the infection is not responding to treatment and they have switched to a more powerful and more expensive antibiotic. The prognosis is now grave. Finally, you get the call saying that the joint is now so badly damaged that they are recommending euthanasia.

Bad news, either way. But in one scenario, the customer gets nothing but bad news after the fact, has to wonder if you were on top of the situation and if everything possible really was done. In the latter scenario, the customer is a part of the process, involved in the decisions along the way, better prepared to deal with the final outcome, and is appreciative of your efforts on his behalf. We've all heard the adage; "It's often not what you say, but how you say it."

Build Relationships With Your Clients

We often comment in regular staff meetings that ours is a relationship business. The very nature of the horse business means that our customers are taking a chance with us when they entrust their horses to our care, when they breed to one of our stallions, when they buy a horse from us. People are naturally more comfortable taking a chance with someone they know. And over the course of time, anyone who has had horses knows that you will share great triumphs and bitter disappointments (probably more of the latter). Relationships are bound to form through those experiences. Building good relationships, whether they be with a spouse, friend, colleague or client, requires effort and is based on continuing honest communication. That means the good news and the bad news. Establish a sustained connection that makes clients feel so "cared for" and valued that they will go out of their way to be loyal. Get to know your customer. Take an interest in what is important to them. Share their highs and their lows.

Exceed Your Clients' Expectations

Good customer service means exceeding expectations.

I bet we all patronize a store that is slightly more expensive for the same products, but we just like the feeling of going in there and doing business there. We have a feed company we have been dealing with for years. They aren't the cheapest in the world but their prices are competitive. From time to time, their competitors come to me and tell me they can save me a few cents on a bag of feed. But when I need one salt brick right now, I can call the company I'm dealing with and they'll put one salt brick on a truck and bring it to me. And when I've had a problem, all I've had to do is make them aware of it and they have taken it seriously and solved it. Am I going to give that up for a few cents?

Sometimes when we are showing yearlings at the sale everyone shows up at once and wants to see everything. There is a limited amount of space for showing yearlings and every space is taken. It wouldn't matter how much help we hired, there just is not enough physical space to walk and show them all. Buyers have a limited amount of time and get impatient waiting (sometimes not only impatient, but down right rude). Tempers can get a little short. When a buyer comes up to our consignment and wants to see all the yearlings in this situation, we have found it sometimes useful to say "I'll get them out for you as quickly as I can, but as you can see, we are terribly busy right now. I think you might be happier if you come back later. I know I can do a better job for you then." Most of them appreciate this and will go on to another consignor who may not be as busy. Then when they do come back, we knock ourselves out to give them priority and make the show go as smoothly and efficiently for them as we possibly can. We have a potential buyer who is happier, and we have done a better job for the seller by showing his Yearling in a better light.

I once had a client call me one week before the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. He had a Filly running in the race, was flying in to the United States with an entourage, and wanted me to secure the Presidential Suite and three other suites at the best hotel in Lexington. Now, for those of you who haven't been to Lexington, hotel rooms in Lexington are booked months and months ahead, often a year ahead, during the Keeneland meet. ANY room is hard to find on short notice and especially on the weekend of a major stakes race. But I told him I would do my best. I called one of the best hotels in Lexington and explained that I was the Manager of Three Chimneys Farm, that one of our most important clients was coming into town to see his horse run in the Ashland Stakes, that I knew this was a tall order, but was requesting the Presidential Suite and three other suites, price being no object. The woman at reservations said, "We're completely booked. You might try the Residence Inn." You don't understand, I said. He doesn't want the Residence Inn. He wants your entire top floor. He wants the best accommodations in the best hotel in Lexington." "I'm sorry sir. We're completely booked up. You might want to try Extended Stay."

So I said "thank you very much" and called the other top hotel in Lexington. The woman at reservations there said "We're completely booked for those dates, but let me have the manager call you to see if she can help." The manager called in just a few minutes and I explained the situation. I told her this was very important to me. She repeated that they were fully booked, but asked specifically how many people needed to be accommodated in how many beds? I got that information from my client and called her back. She said she would see if she could move things around. She called me back to say she could not provide the Presidential Suite, but she could provide 2 regular suites and enough regular rooms to accommodate the whole party for the nights in question. My client thought I had performed a miracle for him. I don't know what she did or how she did it, but now I always recommend that hotel. And I have gone out of my way to do favors for her and guests of the hotel since then.

Understand What Your Clients Want

Customers are not buying your products or services, they are buying your solutions to their problems. Make sure you understand what the customer wants - not just what they are asking for. Often there is a difference, and if you don't discern that, you may well miss the target and not satisfy their needs, besides making your job a lot more complicated than it may need to be.

Part of satisfying a customer is to focus on what is "right" for them. One of the slogans we have used in our ads is "Our focus is Your success". Just because a client wants to breed to one of our more expensive stallions, doesn't mean it is the best decision for him. Even if you do what the client wants, if you know it is not in their best interest and it turns out badly, you are responsible. Just recently, I bought a relatively expensive Christmas gift for someone. After a few days, the item proved defective. I took it back to the store to exchange and found the same person who had waited on me and convinced me to buy the item. When I explained that it was defective she said, "No problem. We exchange these all the time. They're no good."

Learn what your client's goals are. Are they going for the home run? Or will they be satisfied with a base hits? Is the goal to breed and race a top class horse? Or is the goal to try and make some money with a sale yearling? Do they want to run at a local race track, or do they want to see their horses at Del Mar or Saratoga? If you understand their objectives, you are in a position to help guide them towards better decisions, as well as presenting them with opportunities that may arise from time to time.

Of course, some customers are impossible to please. These cases require the greatest diplomacy and tongue biting. I once had one of our managers come to me to ask "At what point can I tell this person that he is being a real jerk?" and I replied, "The second after you hang up the phone." Sometimes you can find a tactful way to put things in perspective for someone. We had a client once who assumed that everything that went wrong must be someone's fault. We had a very good mare for him who had no problem conceiving, but had a great deal of difficulty in maintaining a pregnancy. After the second pregnancy loss in the same breeding season, he was on the phone with me angrily accusing us of incompetence. I was trying as patiently as I could to explain reproductive physiology, what we had done, why we had done it, what we planned to do, but he would have none of it. He was just getting angrier and angrier. Finally, I said to him, "I understand that you have a great deal of money at stake and are very upset, but if this were your daughter or your wife not able to maintain a pregnancy instead of your mare, would you be screaming at the doctor telling him what he had done wrong? Or would you be putting your arm around her and telling her how terribly sorry you were?" He apologized immediately.

Conclusions

Good Customer Service all comes down to treating people honestly and fairly. It all comes down to having their best interest in mind. It all comes down to taking the extra step, to doing a little more than is good enough. It all comes down to treating people the way you want to be treated.

Always make sure your customers are treated as a valued patron. Establish a culture in which all your employees understand the importance of going out of their way to help the customer. Make sure everyone in your organization knows how to respond.

Always tell the truth, even when you have made a mistake. Here's what happened. Here's what went wrong. Here's what we're doing about it. Here's what we're doing to see that it never happens again.

Never be afraid to say:

• "I don't know, but I'll find out."
• "Let me transfer you to someone who can help you."
• "I'll be sure he calls you right back."

We once had a mare scheduled to arrive from Canada. The owner informed us that the van was held up at the border and would not arrive until the middle of the night. We said we would call in the morning to let them know she had arrived safely. The owner couldn't sleep, worrying about the mare. He called the barn at about 3:00 in the morning and asked our night watchman if the mare had arrived. We have four Broodmare divisions with a night watchman on each. The mare was not scheduled to go to the division the owner had called. The night watchman said, "She's not here. But let me call the other divisions and I'll call you right back." A few minutes later, the night watchman who had received the mare called the owner to say the mare had arrived just a few minutes before, looked great, and had settled in well. The mare owner wrote a letter expressing appreciation, that our employee had gone beyond "I don't know" to "I'll find out for you". He said it was the kind of service he had come to expect from us, and was a big part of why he entrusted his mares to us.

Everybody on the farm saw a copy of that letter. Everybody on the farm understands that we value that kind of behavior. That's what it takes.