Substitute for Success

While driving through Texas not long ago, I stopped at a fast food place to grab a quick lunch. I hadn’t visited this chain in years, so I thought I’d give them a try again. I won’t reveal the name of the chain, although I will mention that they sell dairy products fit for a queen.

After perusing the menu for a few moments, I ordered a combo meal and asked the woman behind the counter if I could get curly fries instead of the regular fries. Her response was a simple, curt “No.” When I asked why not, she replied, “We can’t substitute anything.” Again I asked her why not, and she responded (with an increased tone of annoyance), “We just can’t.”

I settled for the regular fries, but I’m never going to that chain again. Not when every other chain restaurant I’ve been to has been happy to make substitutions for me.

You probably feel the same way. In fact, most of us do. A study by the Strategic Planning Institute found that 96% of unhappy customers don’t bother to register their complaint, but 90% will never visit the offending company again. With so many available choices today in virtually every industry, it’s far easier to switch than fight.

Was this incident an aberration? Possibly.

Was it due to a lack of training? Could be.

Do I care? No!

And neither do your customers if something similar happens to them. You’ve got one chance with your customer and if you blow it, you may never get another.

So you need to ask yourself (and others in your company): Are we being as convenient to the customer as possible? Are we selling the client what they really want to buy, or simply what we want to sell them? How can we insure that our customers have a positive experience with us every time?

Both consumers and business buyers place a high value on convenience. When you make it easy for your customer to get what they want, when they want, how they want it, they’ll reward you with increased loyalty, higher sales and more referrals. In short, more profits.

And there’s no substitute for that.