I knew my husband was a keeper back when I was waiting tables and he noticed one evening that I didn’t have any clean work shirts hanging in the closet for my shift the next morning so he did a load of laundry for me. He thought it was funny that I found so much meaning in that simple little act, but it did mean a lot. It showed me he was thinking about me when I wasn’t there and that he did something to make my life a little bit easier.

In any relationship it isn’t the grand gestures that makes a bond stronger, it’s the little details woven in between that really matter and hold it all together.

I found a gorgeous pair of earrings on etsy (etsy is a commercial site for homemade and vintage-y stuff as well as arts and crafts supplies, etc.) a couple weeks ago. I have no idea how I ended up there and I didn’t know the seller from Adam but the earrings were pretty and sparkly and I could picture myself wearing them on a date with my husband with the candlelight dancing off of them. So I bought them.

I immediately received a standard, automated response from the system, thanking me for my order, but I also received a personal message from the seller, Laura, who owns the shop I bought my earrings from, Vintage Valise, personally thanking me for my order and telling me she’d ship it out that afternoon.

Then I promptly forgot about the earrings until I received them in the mail. They were wrapped in a lovely little box, tied with a ribbon, and this postcard was tucked inside the envelope they were mailed in:

Talk about a warm fuzzy feeling! I’ve been buying stuff online for a long time and very rarely do items come with a handwritten note, but when they do…wow! You really appreciate someone taking the time to do something like that.

I wouldn’t have remembered the name of the shop where I bought those earrings if I didn’t receive this card with my purchase even though I had received that email earlier in the transaction.

We get emails ALL the time. We never get a handwritten note.

They say that it takes 7-11 “touches” before someone buys from you. I don’t necessarily think that’s always true. When some of the touches are unexpected and delightfully personal, I think it can take less.

I think Laura is going to have a successful shop if she can convert every buyer into a repeat buyer like she did with me. All it took to make me love her was taking the time to write a thank you note that was personalized for me (noting my purchase and even spelling my name right).

The worst thing a small business owner can do is make his or her customers feel invisible. We all love those little details so why don’t we see more of them?

Do you do something personal like this in your interactions? Has it become part of your brand? Please tell me about it!

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Two weeks ago, I scheduled an appointment with an exterminator to get rid of a crop of big black ants. I’ve been using a natural, organic bait and it just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick for this particular type of ant.

I didn’t want to call an exterminator because I don’t like the thought of the harsh chemicals they use, but I figured that I just couldn’t share my house with these insects anymore, so I picked a name out of the yellow pages, checked them out online and made contact.

They responded via email, gave me a price and told me what day they would be coming…Thursday March 25.

On Tuesday they let me know that they had double booked and would be here Friday morning instead.

No big deal, I work from home, I told them.

So this morning (Friday) I’m checking my email and I have a message from the exterminator telling me they’d be here around 10 am and that me, my kids and my pets would have to be gone for a few hours during the treatment and a few hours afterwards.

That email was sent at 9:30pm last night.

My husband and I are sharing a car today, I work from home, I have two children under the age of 4 and an indoor cat.

Now, keep in mind that one of the email exchanges we had was about my concern about the chemicals that would be used as I have young children and an indoor cat and all I was told was the name of the chemical and that when applied by a professional it is very safe.

So why didn’t he tell me at that time that we would need to be gone during this process? Holy bad customer service, Batman!

I’ll tell you, this company has lost a customer. First the double-booking thing and then the no-notice thing. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions, but I think someone in a business like this, while they likely assumed that I would know we’d have to leave the house for the day, should have a list of guidelines and information sent to their customers before they treat for whatever pest they’re going to be eliminating.

This man is clearly a solopreneur and he’s probably a very busy one. He should have a virtual assistant fielding his calls and emails. This person could systematically send an email with information to each customer to avoid this problem, which must have led to some loss of business. I can’t be the only one who can’t pick up and leave at the drop of a hat!

I’m sure we all make assumptions in our businesses, but it’s a dangerous thing to do.

This guy obviously assumes that everyone knows they have to be gone while he’s treating, but he’s wrong. I didn’t know and I’m really smart.

Could you be doing something like this in your line of work?

I know I’ve done it. I’ve assumed before that when I start writing optimized content for someone that they will know what keywords they want me to optimize for. Not always the case.

Part of my job as a writer and part of Buddy’s job as an exterminator, is to educate our clients. Whether we like it or not, it’s important that we explain our process before we start.

I suggest you sit down with a piece of paper and a pen then write down your process from start to finish. Write down everything no matter how obvious it should be.

I mean, if you’re a painter, don’t assume that someone will know they need to take down the old wallpaper before you show up to paint.

Identify the gaps, the items that you should be discussing with your clients before you start work, and document them. Put together an information sheet…something that you can send to people before they work with you.

If the exterminator had done that, I’d be packing up my things now and headed to Nanny’s house for the weekend. But he didn’t, so instead I’m sitting here angry, writing this blog post, preparing to wipe down all of the old ant bait and put down some fresh.

I’m going to take my chances with the ants because I think I might end up better off than with all those chemicals anyway. At least for now. And if I do decide to call an exterminator it will be somebody different. Call me crazy, but when I’m leaving my house with a stranger in it for hours with harsh chemicals I want someone I can trust. And sorry, but two strikes is more than enough to be out in a game like this.

Moral of the story…never make assumptions about what your customers know or don’t know because you will be proven wrong at some point! Bet on it.

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The day we moved into our new house last month was a very, very happy day for lots of reasons. For starters, we were moving to a place with twice (literally) the space, located in a beautiful, quiet village. But something else great happened on moving day. Our ancient box spring wouldn’t make it up the stairs. Yay!! We had to get a new bed. We had no choice!

So my husband and I arranged for a sitter and hit the stores (after doing some preliminary research online for prices) starting with Leon’s furniture in Charlottetown. We’ve bought furniture there before and have always been pleased with the service etcetera so we were glad that their prices seemed best. A few minutes after we got to the mattress gallery, a sales person (Karen Boyle) walked through and asked if we knew what type of bed we should be sleeping on. We just knew anything would be better than what we were currently using and had planned on buying the least expensive set there.

She took us over to a cool computerized thing that you and your sleep partner take turns laying down on to figure out what type of mattress will suit. Now, whether this actually works, or whether it helps them to upsell you on a pricier bed, it was pretty cool and we discovered we needed a plush mattress as opposed to a firm one.

We made sure to tell Karen that we needed a split box spring so it would fit upstairs and she kept that issue in mind when showing us mattresses, pointing out certain ones that wouldn’t work for us because the mattresses were too high to fit up our stairs.

In the end we made our selection and set about to order it. When we asked how long it would take to be delivered to us, she told us it could be a couple of weeks. I asked if it could possibly be delivered before the next weekend which was my 30th birthday, so I could sleep on a bed younger than me for my big day. She had a chuckle at that, we filled out the paperwork, paid her and were on our way.

A few days later I got a call from Karen saying that the bed would be arriving on Thursday so I’d have my new bed for my birthday. I thought it was sweet that she remembered that little detail.

But then, the next day there was a standard looking Leon’s Thank you card from Karen in the mail thanking us for our purchase. But at the bottom she drew a little birthday cake and added a “PS, Happy Birthday Jaime”.

I was so impressed!

The day after the bed arrived, I got a call from Leon’s asking how my delivery experience was, too. And guess what? I’ve been telling everyone. AND I remember our sales person’s name because she wow-ed me with that birthday wish at the bottom of the card she sent.

These are the details you remember. In these days when customer loyalty is almost extinct, it’s these small touches that might – just maybe – make you remember a store (and a commission-based sales person which I assume Karen is) when you need to make another purchase.

What are you doing to see to it that your customers remember you? Do you send a birthday card or a gift once in awhile? If you see a book one of your clients would love, do you pick it up and send it to them?

What can you implement easily that will set you apart?

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I have an unhealthy love for my dentist. Not a romantic love, but a “what-in-the-world-will-I-do-when-he-retires” kind of love.

My dentist (Dr. Coady) has been looking after my teeth for as long as I’ve had teeth to take to a dentist. My first cleaning, my first filling, a referral to an orthodontist for braces, 3 wisdom tooth extractions (which I did without being put under because I would rather he take them out with local freezing than have anyone else put sharp instruments in my mouth) and so on and so forth. My daughter has gone to him for her first check up and he’s adopting my husband as a patient now too.

This morning I called Dr. Coady’s office about a pain I have that started yesterday in my jaw and has spread to my ear and throat. I wasn’t sure if it was a dentist issue or a doctor one, but even though he’s booked through to October, I got in to see Dr. Coady this morning to get checked out.

Now, as I mentioned, I have an unhealthy love for my dentist, but the whole operation is dear to my heart. It feels like visiting friends when I go to there and I don’t know about your feelings about dentists, but I’m thinking this is rare.

The woman who manages the office (who always gives reminder calls about appointments) engaged my 3 year old in a lengthy conversation about her beautiful dress and I can tell you that my daughter already looks forward to going to the dentist (again, thinking that’s rare).

Anyway, I got called in after a 20 minute wait (remember that they slotted me in at the last minute) and Dr. Coady took a look, identified the problem and explained everything to me. Then he apologized about the wait (what wait?) and told me there would be no charge.

Seriously.

Since I was a child, I haven’t had any fear of going to the dentist. It’s always been a positive experience for me because Dr. Coady is so kind and gentle (as far as dentists go, I suppose). As I grow older (30 on Saturday, hence the balloons, if you’d like to send gifts) I realize that he’s also kind when it comes to billing for his services and slotting in people quickly who are in any degree of pain.

I am not in a business like dentisty where I offer a service that people actually “need”. I am a copywriter and while I believe most people “need” my services, as long as you can read and write you don’t really have to come to me. I offer an optional service. Good copy isn’t really life or death. But, I am going to make a conscious effort to run my business with as much heart as my dentist does.

I don’t know yet what that means, I’m already pretty flexible with payments and I’m a fairly nice person to deal with. But, I want my clients to know how much I really care about them because I do. Maybe that means sending  more gifts or personal notes, but I want to do what I do with more heart and I hope that you might be inspired to do the same. Wouldn’t the world be an amazing place if everyone were like Dr. Coady?

2 Comments »

A few weeks ago, my husband and I started working with a service provider I won’t mention, but I will mention the relationship ended a few days ago.

Every time I called this person, I heard about how busy they were and at the same time, it felt like there was always confusion about our file and it kept being pushed aside. It almost felt like we were an annoyance more than a client and I’m sure that wasn’t the intention. But when you’re always telling your clients about how busy you are, and then can’t remember details about them, well you should consider how that looks.

As another example of this, I was just chatting on Skype with my awesome friend and client, Sally Kuhlman. Sally’s excited about a new endeavor, but she mentioned she was having trouble with a vendor she hired. She said she had to track this business owner down because of a lack of communication, and when she finally reached her, was told she was really busy and it would be another couple weeks before she could get the job done.

Sally said she felt like this person was doing her a favor instead of providing a service she was paid for.

I’m busy – most of us are. But I sure don’t make a habit of telling my clients every time I talk to them (if ever) how busy I am…unless they ask if I’m busy. I don’t lie about it, but I don’t feel it’s appropriate to always be telling my valued clients that I’m swamped.

Now, my husband and I have decided to sell our home and this morning our real estate agent came by to measure our house. He’s probably one of the busiest agents on PEI, but I’d never know it if I didn’t know the local market and industry so well. Even though I know this guy’s beyond busy, he always has time to chat with me on the phone. When he’s meeting with us, he ignores his telephone or profusely apologizes if he needs to take a call. He basically just makes us feel like we’re important. If I make mention of how busy he must be, he tells me stories about just how busy he is and that’s fine. He’s doing his job and it really feels like he is providing a service and taking pride in that.

You know what happens now, don’t you? My husband and I will be telling everyone we know about how great an agent Ian Walker is which will hopefully lead to lots of referral business for him.

The other service providers I mentioned that we Manns and Sally worked with…well…they probably won’t get many referrals from us.

You really have to treat your clients and customers like they’re the only person that matters while you’re interacting with them. That’s how you become successful.

I’m sure you have a story or two about a time you were made to feel like you were being a pain to someone you were paying money to. I’d love to hear about it!

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