Sometimes you can keep customers coming back by sending them away.

After the holidays, one of our readers sent me a customer service story that explains why he will continue to be a loyal Best Buy customer. He and his wife were buying a product that needed an accessory to make it work. So they asked the Best Buy employee what they needed. He told them.

Then he said they could get a better product at Radio Shack.

In the movie, License to Wed, there’s a funny scene that offers a useful customer service lesson.  A reluctant groom stops in a jewelry store to pickup the rings for his wedding. As he looks at his ring he notices something wrong with the inscription. It was supposed to say:

“Never to Part”

Instead it said something else. The person doing the inscription thought the “P” was an “F”. (I’ll let you figure out what the ring said.)

A friend of mine helped me today. I had a minor decision to make yet I found myself stuck. So I asked her for help. Rather than give me her opinion, she gave me a process. She said:

“Ask yourself which is more important.”

Recently, at our weekly breakfast club meeting we were treated to one of the better dining experiences I have had in a long time.

It didn’t happen because the food was spectacular. It wasn’t. It wasn’t because the restaurant team did everything right. They didn’t. And it’s not that our server was overly funny or charming or entertaining. He wasn’t.

Communication is the surest path to delivering Amazing service to our customers. But it’s often harder than we realize to be on the same page with our customers.

Here’s a funny (and true) example of how something can seem so clear to an employee but not their customers. Thanks to the good people at NotAlwaysRight.com for this.

Me: “Hi, [pizza place].”

Customer: “Hi, it says you have a nine inch small pizza. How big is that?”

Recently I submitted a help ticket to a company about a problem with their product. It was not a critical issue but one that needed fixing. After reviewing the issue they marked it as “resolved”.

But they never told me it was resolved. And they didn’t tell me how to apply the fix.

So, from where I stood, the problem was not resolved. Not even close.

Here’s a quick and easy way to have better experiences when you help your customers. This is especially useful in a complaint or service recovery situation.

Thank your customers when they make your job easier.

Recently I had a technical support issue with my website host company. Because we communicated via chat, I was able to provide him with a lot of background and technical information on the problem. (I had researched the issue before contacting technical support.)

Lunch at one of my regular restaurants recently reminded me how often servers forget the basics. Less than 10% of them (in my experience) tell customers what the daily special or soup du jour is.  If I want to know, I have to ask them when they show up to take our order.

That’s like a grocery store clerk asking if I need help with anything as I pay for my groceries.  Timing is everything!

It’s not always easy to keep a good attitude and a smiling face when we’re helping our customers.  We all have many stressors that can get in the way of staying positive and friendly. It’s especially hard when customers are rude, inconsiderate or just plain ornery.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to behave one way when we feel another. Acting upbeat when you’re feeling beat down is never easy. If I’m in  a bad mood it’s natural to let that show through my actions.

Sometimes people who focus on improving customer service forget that the lessons apply to everyone. This includes when we are customers. Here’s what I mean.

Remember, the three requirements of an Amazing customer experience are:

1. Treat me well
2. Help me accomplish what I want
3. Offer me value

When discussing a recent national security issue, President Obama offered a useful lesson for anyone who works with customers.

He focused his efforts on finding solutions rather than blame. And he took responsibility for moving toward a solution. Although the mistakes that happened were not his direct fault, he made it clear, national security was his responsibility.

We should all

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Give your customer a cookie

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

At my favorite coffee shop, they do a lot of things right for their customers. A recent example is how they handled a service recovery situation.

I had placed a lunch order and it didn’t get prepared and served right away like usual. Someone forgot to process the order. After I asked about it, the employee apologized and took care of it very quickly. And, she included a chocolate chip cookie in my order at no charge.

This might seem like