Everyone Needs to Meet Fred

I was having dinner with my husband and kids. While sipping our drinks, one of the children spilled their milk. We flagged down the closest server to ask for napkins. The server grabbed a few and gave them to us. When one of the kids asked for more milk, he responded in a way that sadly came as no surprise. “I’m not your server.”

Now, I graduated from high school, college, and am currently in a master’s program. My husband is currently working on his second masters. Surely we could tell the difference between our tall, engaging, original server, and the shorter, curt, mad because his parents made him get a job secondary server. Did he honestly think we needed to be reminded that our table was outside of his designated zone? Did that fact supersede our child’s need for milk?

Someway, somehow, quality service did not make it into the new millennium. Some would say it was lost way back in the 80’s, probably packed away with a pair of parachute pants, Jane Fonda Workout tapes, and leg warmers. No matter how out of style it may seem, there is absolutely no substitute for good old-fashioned customer service. Do you want your business to stand apart from your competitors? Does your business thrive on the revenue of repeat customers? Is new business driven by the referral of a satisfied customer? If so, I would like to introduce you to Fred.

Fred was a mail carrier. He noticed that mail at a certain house on his route was piling up. In today’s world Fred might have continued adding to the pile until it was spilling out of the box. He might have thrown the excess mail away, or stuffed it in his chimney. He may have even put in another person’s mailbox. Instead, Fred knocked on his customer’s door, greeted him by name, and asked about his line of work.

His customer, Mark, was a professional speaker. He told Fred that he traveled 160 to 200 days a year. Fred could have turned this conversation into an argument over the mail’s condition. He could have asked Mark if he thought his job was more important than his. Instead, Fred said this, “if you just give me a copy of your schedule, I’ll hold your mail and bundle it. I’ll only deliver it on days that you are at home to receive it.” Do you think Fred lived up to his promise? Absolutely, and for the next ten years, Fred provided remarkable customer service consistent to his very first encounter with Mark. Don’t believe me? Pick up a copy of the National Best Seller (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week), “The Fred Factor,” by Mark Sanborn.

Now back to my dinner. My waiter could have done one of three things. 1) He could have brought the milk to the table. 2) He could have simply taken our request, left to find our original server, who could have magically returned with the milk. Or, 3) He could have told us that he would find our server to ask her to return to the table. Instead, he told us a fact we already knew, which did nothing to help our situation. It was not about tip; it was not about zones. It was about the need for server B to be introduced to Fred.

This week’s question: How much attention are you paying to customer service? Do you greet your regulars by name? Are new customers welcomed as enthusiastically as returning patrons? Does your new employee training include an emphasis on customer service? Walk into your business as a customer, and find out if you and/or your staff need to meet Fred.