Recently new legislation was passed that requires restaurant companies with 20 or more locations to publish calorie counts of the food they serve. They’re also required to make information on sodium, carbs and fat available at a customer’s request.

It’s about time!

About two-thirds of the times we write about a specific company, we get a comment or some sort of feedback from the company. Sometimes it’s an employee defending them. Sometimes it’s a PR person offering to help. Once in awhile it’s the CEO.

No matter who responds, I’m always impressed. Because it means they’re listening and they care. They care enough to speak up and get involved.

(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

One of the best ways to distance your organization from the competition is to solve a problem that frustrates your industry’s customers. I just read an Orlando Sentinel article that provides a great example of this approach: Disney by Cell Phone.

The number one guest complaint at Walt Disney World is about long wait times for the rides. And over the years Disney World has implemented several tools to help minimize the problem. Tools include:

I remember when we were kids. We’d play all kinds of games. And when one kid pushed things too far (playing unfair) a parent might step in and enforce some basic rules on the group.

This usually had a stabilizing effect on the game. But sometimes the kid who was acting out would escalate rather than cooperate. He might ruin it for everyone by picking up the game board and throwing it. Or he’d get up and leave, refusing to play anymore because he couldn’t do things HIS WAY.

The white-coated pharmacist handed me my drugs at my local drug store this morning. As she did, her eyes grew big and her voice rose like a teenage girl on opening night of the latest Twilight movie.

“Oooh, you’ve been selected to take our feedback survey for a chance to win $1000,” she said. I’ve never seen a pharmacist so excited. Apparently the thrill of winning a lottery trumps counting pills on the excite-o-meter. Who knew?

When was the last time you re-evaluated your value offering?

When did you last sit down expressly to think about the value you offer to both your customers and your employees?

What does your organization offer that sets you apart from your competition? And remember competition is not just others who offer the same service — but others who compete for the same dollars.

A big priority for me is making sure customers have a voice.  Many of an organization’s problems can be overcome by having better conversations with their customers.

Intuitively, we know this. But we don’t always do it. And in some ways it’s harder than in “the good old days” because of how our world has changed.

The good news is we have more tools than ever before to help us connect with our customers.

I’ve been working on getting better at meeting my customers where they are.

That’s why I redeveloped this website last year, to make it more accessible. That’s why I offer a daily and weekly email newsletter with Amazing Service tips and tools. That’s why I created the free Amazing Customer Service Assessment Tool, the annual customer service survey, and the opportunity to learn from each other by sharing our customer service stories.

There’s a coffee shop in London where the owner sends his customers away, into the arms of his competitors. He does this knowing they’ll come back. And when they come back, they’ll probably be more loyal to his coffee shop.

His strategy is surprising but simple. He wants his customers to understand his product. He wants them to know what is available in their market, the good, the bad and the ugly. The more they sample other coffee shops, the more they will develop their own taste in coffee, the beverage and in coffee, the  experience.

I’m usually not a fan of ad campaigns. But I do like Microsoft’s new ad campaign for Windows 7, “Made by me”. It features people (average, ordinary Windows users, we are supposed to believe) who talk about how Windows 7 has the features they want, because they TOLD Microsoft they wanted them.

Of course, this is fiction advertising, so we need to take it with a massive dose of skepticism.

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Be passionate about customer feedback

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

Recently I was chatting online with a guy who does web design and software development. I was evaluating one of his products. At one point I asked him if he wanted feedback and if so how he preferred to get it.

His response: “I want all feedback!”