“It’s the Book of the Year for Me!”
I had a wonderful opportunity Monday to be on Laura Steward’s I Heart Radio live show and podcast, It’s All About the Questions. She had read my book, The Extra Scoop, and said, “It’s the book of the year for me!” She even dubbed me Captain Customer Service! Like many of us, she has had those rare stand-out moments experiencing that “extra scoop” in customer service – the amazing thing a business does that is so good you want to talk about it.
She shared her story about being out of town and walking into an orthodontist’s office, in tears, because she was in extreme pain from her braces. Even though she wasn’t their patient, they took care of the problem immediately, and didn’t even charge her for it. The “extra scoop” was when the orthodontist gave her her cell phone number in case there was a problem later.
“I remember her name. It was Dr. Lori Smith Orthodontics” Laura said. “She gave me a literal and virtual hug so that I’m talking about it on the air.”
I listened to her story and commented that sadly, we are conditioned as customers to expect a bad customer service experience, so when we get a great one like she had, it’s mind blowing.
The IT industry doesn’t have the greatest reputation for customer service. In fact, it’s generally the opposite. So for me, it’s always a true differentiation point. A lot of companies can do the technical work just fine but delivering a great experience seems to be a much harder thing for folks in our industry. So I’m very passionate about delivering a great experience. I know how I want to be treated as a customer. I have that in mind with every interaction with my own customers, and wrote The Extra Scoop to inspire other businesses to do the same.
You can listen to this broadcast on I Heart Radio – it’s 122 – John Mamon – The Extra Scoop or get the podcast on iTunes. It’s a very informing and entertaining show, and I hope you listen – and share your “extra scoop” customer service stories on ExtraScoops.com or the I Heart Radio page.
Order your copy of The Extra Scoop and see how you can provide mind blowing service to your customers! Ordering info.