National Clothesline

Previously, I defined Advocates, Apathetics and Assassins as they pertain to your business. Because each of these prototypes is created by the level of satisfaction that is given to that individual customer, it’s important to consider your true goals when dealing with angry customers.

What constitutes a “win” in the typical face-to-face situation? For most cleaners a “win” is defined as:

• Terminating an angry encounter as quickly as possible.

• Avoiding a public scene.

• Accomplishing points one and two without incurring a monetary loss.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that it provides short-term relief without contemplating the possibility of (or costs associated with) creating an assassin. And much like the proverbial elephant, assassins never forget.

While it’s true that no company should become too worked up over any one disgruntled customer, neither should it disregard an assassin. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And for every customer who complains directly to you, there are countless others who walk quietly out your door but speak loudly to others.

A customer whose complaint is never rectified can become an elephant that never forgets. It is not unusual for unsatisfied customers to harbor bad feelings about instances that occurred 15 or 20 years ago — to the point where, in their mind, the company in question comes to represent the devil himself. While a spat with a spouse may be forgotten after a good night’s sleep (except for my wife, she remembers everything), a bad customer experience often takes much longer to heal.

Fortunately, for most drycleaners, the number of Apathetics outnumber Assassins at least five to one. Which means you can get the most bang for your satisfaction buck by identifying cost-effective methods for turning your merely satisfied apathetic customers into Advocates.

Even though peoples’ behaviors can be erratic and unexpected, the numbers tell the tale. Great companies decide to implement a high level of service, quality, and customer service as part of their method of operation and know that the payoff will be huge.

Of course, the transition of customers from apathetic to the ranks of advocacy can be complicated. A desire to be among the best is certainly a first step, but the reality of moving up the satisfaction ladder requires a change at the top and a willingness to spend the money and time to make it happen. Most cleaners get as far as the lip service level, but moving from average to superior is a more difficult assignment.

Jim Collins opened his best selling book, Good to Great, saying that “Good is the enemy of great.” For many people customer satisfaction means little more than the absence of problems. Drycleaners, like many other businesses, find it easy to become complacent. They don’t hear the potential for greatness calling out to them to drive their apathetic customers toward advocacy.

Here’s a good example to demonstrate the difference between apathy and advocacy. You go to a new upscale restaurant. You are greeted quickly and seated after a few minutes wait. Your waiter dutifully reads off the daily specials and takes your order. Your meal is served in a reasonable amount of time, and the taste is about what you’ve come to expect from other similarly priced restaurants. Nothing more.

Twice during the meal your waiter walks by and insincerely asks if everything is OK. The second time he comes by you ask for the check. No desserts were offered, which is fine by you because you’re watching your weight. Overall, you’re satisfied with the experience. Nothing went terribly wrong.

The next day a friend asks you how you liked the new restaurant. Based on this experience, you say, “It was fine.” This short response is typical of the merely satisfied apathetic. You don’t elaborate about either the food or the service. It didn’t excite you. It was what you expected. In fact, you wouldn’t have said anything if you hadn’t been asked directly.

When it comes to the question of whether you would go back to that restaurant again, while you’re not opposed to the idea, it probably isn’t going to be the first place that jumps to mind. If, at some point, you call this restaurant to make a 7 p.m. dinner reservation and are told that they only have 6 or 8 p.m. available, you’ll probably say, “No thanks, I’ll try to get a 7 p.m. reservation somewhere else.” That’s because apathetic customers will only continue to do business with you on their terms. Not yours.

It doesn’t matter what business you are in — this scenario can easily be changed to visualize the differences between your apathetic customers and your advocates.

The next time you start to wonder why your business is not growing as rapidly as you feel it should be, consider if you are merely satisfying customers or are you really exciting them with your service, to the point that they can’t wait to tell the next person they see about the extraordinary, marvelous service they just received.