“Good morning!  Welcome to our USA Today route.  Now, if I should go completely brain dead and miss you, please don’t hesitate to call me at the number below.  I will personally re-deliver your paper as soon as possible.  If you have a complaint that you and I can’t solve, you may call my district manager directly.  His name and number are also below.  Thanks a lot.  We really appreciate your business.”

The Delta regional jet was packed.  As the flight backed away from the gate, the flight attendant began her ritualistic safety spiel about seat-belts, sudden turbulence and smoking.  She ended by saying, “The flying time to Grand Rapids will be two hours…no, it will be an hour and a half…no, actually, I don’t know.”  The cabin erupted with laughter and applause.

What jolted the half-asleep plane-full into cheering?  Unscripted, raw honesty!  We all  loved her confident authenticity!

Great concierges are intensely loyal to a customer.  Read that line again and pay attention to the singular object of the phrase “loyal to.”   They do not think of the target of their service efforts in the plural . . . they think only in the singular.  They are service choreographers—managing an amalgamation of diverse elements, big and small.  A waitress might be friendly, but if she can’t get orders right, her weaknesses overshadow her strengths. The call center phone rep might be knowledgeable and efficient, but if he has little patience for customer problems, his cognitive gifts are lost amid the interpersonal flaws.

” The music is not in the guitar.”

This line is part of the extraordinary book called Life is Good by Jake and Rocket (aka, Bert and John Jacobs).  It holds a special message for remarkable service.  Examine how much energy and resources organizations typically expend on CRM software, ironclad return policies, service processes and procedures, and call center metric mania.  In the end, service is not about stuff–it is about people creating positively memorable experiences for customers.  Even erudite and super sterile business to business connections are far less B2B than P2P–people to people.

Imagine a quiet Saturday afternoon watching a favorite sports event suddenly interrupted by a loud popping sound immediately followed by smoke in the house. What flashes through your mind is a combination of I just lost the big screen TV, the house is on fire and much later in the day – who won that game I was watching?

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

It made business headlines. The most popular brand in the world focused on the experience, not just their long-famous product.

Coca-Cola introduced their “Freestyle” vending machine. Their ad copy described it as “all packaged in an innovative and interactive fountain experience.” It was designed with help from Ferrari! Step one, pick your favorite Coke beverage: Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid lemonade, CokeZero, etc. Step two, pick your favorite flavoring. Want a raspberry Coke, a peach Fanta or a coconut flavored lemonade? There are over 100 combinations. A plastic cup is filled with ice and your special concoction.

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

This is part 5 in a 5 part series on how to attract loyalty from customers in our new and changed world.

There are five key loyalty drivers we find fit most customers most of the time about most services.

Here is driver #5:

Inspire Me

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

This is part 4 in a 5 part series on how to attract loyalty from customers in our new and changed world.

There are five key loyalty drivers we find fit most customers most of the time about most services.

Here is driver #4:

Surprise Me

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

This is part 3 in a 5 part series on how to attract loyalty from customers in our new and changed world.

There are five key loyalty drivers we find fit most customers most of the time about most services.

Here is driver #3:

Understand Me

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

This is part 2 in a 5 part series on how to attract loyalty from customers in our new and changed world.

There are five key loyalty drivers we find fit most customers most of the time about most services.

Here is driver #2:

Protect Me

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

The landscape of customer loyalty has been re-contoured! Today’s customers are not like they use to be twenty-five years ago. First, customers get terrific service in pockets of their life and use those experiences to judge everyone else. When the UPS or FedEx delivery person walks with a sense of urgency, we expect the mail carrier to do likewise. Customers also have way more choices than ever before.  A quick trip to the grocery store for a simple loaf of bread and you are confronted with 16 brands and 23 varieties packaged 12 different ways. Two decades ago sliced bread came one way—white—produced by either Wonder or Sunbeam!