4 Keys To Leaving A Customer Speechless - Personalized Service The Blue Willow Way

I never ceased to be amazed at the manner in which life unfolds.  I believe the pages of events in our lives turn as directed by a divine script;  a script I believe is written to ensure we learn, prosper and share our knowledge to the greatest extent possible.

My customer experience while recently visiting an area restaurant not only reinforced this belief, but also provided an exceptional example of why companies should embrace a major #CustomerService trend for 2015.

Courtesy Stuart Miles FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My last blog post focused on the increasing importance of "personalized service" as a competitive differentiator in the realm of customer care.  As stated in the post, companies seeking to win the market must find a way to make their service feel more personalized and tailored to each customer.  Achieving this requires leadership that views the customer as the heartbeat of its operations while understanding all business is personal and contains a human element.

Several days after publishing these thoughts, I dined at the +Blue Willow Inn Restaurant & Gift Shop with a group from our church.   In the days leading up to the Blue Willow visit, thoughts around topics for my next blog post centered on social media's impact on customer service;  however, my experience at the Blue Willow and a special person we met there compelled me to delay the social media article for a later date.  The experience had such an impact, it pushed me to share more with my readers on the topic of personalized service.

~ It Felt Like Home ~

The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant is located in Social Circle, Georgia, approximately 45 miles from the heart of downtown Atlanta.  Being nationally cited as one of the best restaurants in the Southern United States, my wife and I had long ago placed the Blue Willow on our list of "must do" dining establishments.  When our church group chose the restaurant for an outing we were excited. We looked forward to finally making the short drive and seeing if the Blue Willow would indeed meet our lofty expectations.

Our experience within the restaurant did not disappoint.  From the moment of our arrival, we were warmly greeted and made to feel "at home".  This feeling was accentuated by the restaurant's interior design and decor.  A dining environment that, while open to a degree, made one feel as if they were sharing a meal in their personal home with friends.

Even though the Blue Willow has a buffet service approach, the buffet was presented in such a manner that you did not feel as if you were lining up in a corporate cafeteria.  The attention given to the food layout and flow of diners was such that it felt more intimate and personalized (there's that "p" word again....).  To top everything off, the food was truly exceptional.

~ A Personal Service Angel ~

We enjoyed our meal so much, we decided to linger a while longer and visit the Blue Willow's Gift Shop.  This decision led to our meeting a very special lady.  Someone whom I view as being a true customer service angel.  An angel with an innate ability to deliver personalized, customer experiences.

Before entering the gift shop's doors and being greeted with a cheerful hello, I had never met Judy Staples.  Judy was very personable and engaging as our small group walked around the shop and checked out its interesting assortment of items. She asked where we were from and if we had visited before.  She also provided additional information on the Blue Willow's history as well as details on any specific items in the shop that peeked our interest.

As we were winding up our visit, an item on the bottom of a small stand near the checkout counter caught my eye.  It was a beautiful wooden and ceramic serving tray emblazoned with the logo of my beloved University of Georgia Bulldogs.  Unlike other items in the shop, the tray did not have a price tag on it; therefore, I assumed it was not for sale.  After some gentle persuasion from my wife, I decided to ask about it.

Judy's response to my inquiry about the tray left me temporarily speechless.  Her reply.....

"It's not for sale, but you can have it....."

I could not believe what I just heard and could only respond with....

"Say what?..."

Judy went on to explain the tray was not priced for sale due to a couple of small, barely visible, cracks in the ceramic tile.  However, she wanted to give it to me.  She heard me state I was a University of Georgia graduate and wanted to bless me with the gift. Her response as I tried to say I could not accept was......

"Don't block your blessing."

With that, I was officially blown away.  I stood there with goosebumps and a small lump in my throat due to the touching and very personal nature of her kind gesture.   All I could do was give her a hug.

Judy's care for this previously unknown group of potential customers that entered her shop did not stop there.  She also gave our group's leader a copy of Great Men Bow Down, a book authored by Gordon Lawrence.  Judy stated she wanted to give the gift since she understood he was leader of our church group and believed he would enjoy it.

By now we were all amazed at the kind spirit and truly caring person that stood before us.  Even though we had not purchased anything, Judy understood and plugged in to our personal wants and desires.  The personal connection she made was emotionally tangible.  It ensured our next visit as paying patrons of the Blue Willow will be one of many more to come.

~ Lessons Related To Personalized Service ~

Even though The Blue Willow Inn Restaurant and Gift Shop does not have the size and national presence comparable to Morton's The Steakhouse or other widely known brands, there are 4 key lessons in personalizing service that can be learned from their operating approach.

1. Process flows that serve a large number of customers can be designed to give a more personalized feel.
   
   The Blue Willow's buffet line serves thousands; however, their understanding of what customers expect when they dine in a cozy home environment helps them with layout and placement of food items.
   
2. Every touch-point is interconnected from the customer's perspective.  Each is important in delivering a feeling of personalized customer service.
   
   In addition to its buffet lines, the Blue Willow strives to provide a level of personal connection through the various contact points a customer experiences.  It's dining rooms are adorned with pictures, memorabilia and other items customers in its target market might connect with.  The restaurant's front porch includes large rocking chairs that convey a comfortable and personally welcoming "at home" feeling.  A great experience in the restaurant might compel a customer to visit the gift shop where the feeling of being personally cared for continues.
   
3. Organizations that excel in providing the best personal service must have individuals who are genuinely sincere in their commitment to understanding and serving the customer.
   
   You must deliver service in a manner that hits the mark based on customers' individual needs, wants or desires.  Achieving this requires a commitment on behalf of every person who plays a role in shaping the overall customer experience.  From executive management to the front-line service representative, you can't fake personalized customer service.  Making the personal service connection requires the execution of policies, processes, and resulting actions that reflect a true understanding of what resonates with the customer on their level.
   
4. Leadership must ensure personalized service is woven into the organization's cultural fabric.
   
   The Blue Willow Gift Shop's mission statement is shown below.  The spirit of service reflected in their statement permeates its operations and is manifest in the personnel working there.  As a result, customers are cared for on an individual level and their business continues to flourish. Creating a culture of personal care is critical to realizing the benefits of this increasingly important customer service trend.

To receive notice of future blog posts, you can follow me via Twitter, Facebook , LinkedIn, or Goggle+.  I also invite you to view my website where you will find a link to all blog posts on the homepage.  I also have several Pinterest boards with content that may be interest to you.

#CustomerService
#CustomerExperience
#custserv

Do Not Miss This Customer Curve

Now that January is in full swing, I occasionally reference various articles that predicted #CustomerService trends for 2015.  I generally agree with the items identified by those who gazed into the crystal ball;  however, there is one expectation I believe reigns supreme.

This expectation represents the very essence of impactful customer experiences. Failure to address it will significantly diminish the impact of all other customer care initiatives any organization might undertake.

The need for more "personalized service" has been highlighted as a key imperative for 2015.  This is usually viewed as service that is less scripted, less cut from a standard mold.  Instead, the service experience is more tailored at each touch point to the specific needs and expectations of the target customer.

While personalizing service can be a challenging task, any organization desiring lasting marketplace success must find a way to effectively address the challenge. Otherwise, they risk losing a chance to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Courtesy Stuart Miles FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In his widely acclaimed book, Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers introduced the technology adoption life-cycle model.  The model is a bell shaped curve that describes the adoption of new products or innovation.  This adoption cycle is based upon characteristics of specifically defined adopter groups.

The model indicates that the first group of people to use a new product is called innovators, followed by early adopters.  Next come the early and late majority, and the last group to eventually adopt a product are called laggards.  There are various benefits and costs that are realized, depending upon where one falls on the adoption curve.

Thinking about the trend of personalizing customer service, it occurred to me that Roger's model can be used to group companies that are currently reaping the business benefits of serving customers in a more personalized manner.  The model also captures those organizations who sadly might miss the boat.

Like Innovators found in Rogers' adoption model, +The Ritz-Carlton exemplifies companies on the leading edge of personalizing customer service.  Way before the calendar turned to 2015, The Ritz instituted a culture and supporting processes that enables its team to make each guest feel unique and special.  The same can be said for Zappos (+Zappos.com) and the customer experiences that result from their WOW! philosophy.

It will be interesting to see who follows the innovators.  Organizations that drive themselves to become part of the early adopters and early majority class when it comes to delivering more personalized service, will find themselves on the upside of the adoption curve in 2015.   These organizations will set themselves apart.  They will be poised to retain and capture new revenue from increasingly demanding customers.  Furthermore, they will have the opportunity to raise the customer service bar and take market share away from organizations that are late to the party, namely, the late majority and laggards.

Courtesy cool design FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Not every organization can or should mirror The Ritz or Zappos in their approach; however, every organization should assess their culture, strategic, operational and financial plans with an eye toward supporting more personalized customer service strategies.  Easy to do? No.  Is it possible and critical to long-term success. Absolutely.

Driving an organization to deliver more personalized service starts with courageous leadership.  Leadership that never forgets these truths:

(a) The heartbeat of every business is the customer.

(b) At its core, all business is personal and contains a human element.

These truths can sometimes become blurred under the pressure of performance metrics that are not linked to the customer in some clearly defined manner. Managing though the blur to ensure all aspects of the business can be viewed through a customer lens will help companies on their path to devising and implementing viable, personalized service programs.

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Courtesy Stuart Miles FreeDigitalPhotos,net 

To receive notice of future blog posts, you can follow me via Twitter, Facebook , LinkedIn, or Goggle+.  I also invite you to view my website where you will find a link to all blog posts on the homepage.  I also have several Pinterest boards with content that may be interest to you.

#CusomerService
#CustomerExperience
#custserv

Absolutely Amazing How This Brief Sentence Echoed Exceptional Customer Support

"Everything we do, even the slightest thing we do, can have a ripple effect and repercussions that emanate.  If you throw a pebble into the water on one side of the ocean, it can create a tidal wave on the other side."
     - Victor Webster

Image Courtesy Seaskylab at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Those of us in the business of creating better customer experiences repeatedly hear the following:  When comparing positive and negative customer experiences, people are twice as likely to share a negative experience with someone they know.

Various studies have validated this reality.  A scary reality due to lost sales and other dire consequences it can have for companies that do not take customer service seriously.

While we live in a world where bad customer service reviews on social media can reek havoc on business success, I was recently reminded of the powerful impact one-on-one conversations can still have;  especially when these conversations are innocently shared with others.

During a recent visit to my local supermarket,  I overheard the conversation of two gentlemen who were in the same checkout line as myself.  They were comparing the number of open registers and wait times at the supermarket to that of a nearby, national retailer.  While there were several people in our line and other lines, the gentlemen focused their comments on the retailer's customer service.

One gentleman was most annoyed with his experience of having to wait in a very long line due to the retailer having only one checkout lane opened.   He contrasted that experience to the one we all were currently sharing.  One where the supermarket had several registers operating and moved quickly to open additional registers if the lines extended beyond a certain point.

As he prepared to launch into a new topic of discussion, he concluded his comments with a simple, 5 word sentence that captured the essence of his satisfaction with the supermarket.....

"They do pretty good here."

While I and others in line were not party to the gentlemen's conversation, I know we all heard the story and that great 5 word sentence.  A basic, yet powerful sentence all companies should wish to hear from their customers.

Image Courtesy Boians Cho Joo Young at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Customer service has an echo that ripples and resonates with existing and potential customers. The ripple of good customer service creates a beautiful, gentle wave that captures others and can be ridden to business success.  The ripple of bad customer service creates a vortex that dampens and can potentially drown a company's aspirations.

I'm pretty sure the gentleman with the bad customer experience had not taken to social media with his concern about the retailer's long checkout line.  I am also sure none in our supermarket line felt compelled to tweet, Facebook, Instagram or use other media to relay what they heard;  however, I am very confident there was a ripple effect created by the customer service perspective we all overheard.

As social media platforms continue to have an ever increasing impact on customer service perceptions, let's remember the still powerful, far-reaching impact basic face-to-face, person-to-person communications can have on the customer experience landscape.

Image Courtesy Stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

By the way, kudos to Publix for being the supermarket referenced here.  Yeah, they tend to do pretty good there.

To receive notice of future blog posts, you can follow me via Twitter, Facebook , LinkedIn, or Goggle+.  I also invite you to view my website where you will find a link to all blog posts on the homepage.

I also have several Pinterest boards with content that may be interest to you.

#CustomerService
#CustomerExperience