Going the extra mile" – How to WOW your customers

Today, excellent customer care is considered as the brand differentiator. It is not just enough to have a good product or service to sell — you must have stellar customer support to go with it. It will make you stand out from the crowd

How does having good customer service help? Doing that

little extra for your customers will:
- Enhance sales
- Increase customer loyalty
- Promote positive word of mouth advertising

We all have a good (or bad) customer experience story to tell. Here’s one that’s really popular and inspirational.
This is the story of Joshie the Giraffe who had an extended vacation at the Ritz-Carlton. Now, Ritz-Carlton has a legendary reputation for customer service. How did they go the extra mile for their customer?

A customer’s son at Ritz-Carlton left behind his favourite toy giraffe, Joshie, after their stay in their hotel room. Naturally, upon his return home, the child was distraught when he learnt that Joshie was still at the hotel. But the parents pacified the child saying Joshie was having an extended vacation at the hotel. The father called the hotel and let them know of the toy. The hotel found the toy giraffe, much to the father’s relief. The father had requested the hotel to take a picture of Joshie by the poolside to back up his fabricated story, hoping that would bring his son some joy.

A few days later, the customer received a package from the hotel. They had sent Joshie along with pictures of his extended vacation! And surprise, surprise! There were pictures of Joshie the Giraffe, ‘enjoying’ by the poolside, at the spa, hanging out with other fellow toys and a parrot, and driving a golf cart on the beach! The Loss Prevention Team at the Ritz-Carlton even made Joshie the Giraffe an honorary member and issued him an ID tag (with a picture of Joshie in front of the security monitors thrown in)! This is how Ritz-Carlton wowed their customers.

This (and other inspiring stories like these) may be exceptional and may not represent everyday processes at businesses. For example, Phykon voluntarily opened its doors to help flood victims of Kerala in 2018 as it is a socially responsible brand. Our contact centres were open as hotline spots to attend to SOS calls. The Phykon team even went so far as to be physically present at flood affected areas providing supplies and comfort.

However, going the extra mile is very much scalable and applicable to all businesses. You can wow your customers by going out of your way even with small gestures. For example, Phykon takes the minutest details into consideration when we attend to our clients’ processes. We employ additional checks and measures to ensure that a process is 100% error-free. Or the other time when our experienced and competent customer service agents put in that little extra effort to get customer orders delivered on time. Or when our inbound call center services ensure that every customer is attended to swiftly without making them wait or mull over their problems. We try to understand our customers and provide personalized services.

It is important to make customer service requests your highest priority. Handling it quickly and to the satisfaction of the customer will win them over. But when you go one step further and surprise them with an amazing gesture, you win them over for life.

Going above and beyond for your customers will encourage them to choose you the next time too and to recommend you to their friends and family. The ripples of excellent customer service can touch many, can improve employee morale and can bring in rewards for the business.
For more information visit www.phykon.com