How Can You Wow Your Customer?
How Can You Wow Your Customer?
One thing that can make a huge difference in your customer experience is…communication, but to really knock their socks off…over communication.
Mind-blowing, right?
While we might think this is common sense, it’s not. Or maybe we’re just lazier or too busy to actually remember what someone has already told us…but even more of a reason to take an extra step to wow your customer.
This thought came from an appointment I went to for an eye specialist. Settle in…
8 months ago I had a weird thing going on with my eye. I figured it was just exhaustion (hello, baby at home) but Sean shoved me out the door and into an appointment.
Two eye doctors later, they didn’t think it was life-threatening but did feel I needed to go see a specialist.
My appointment was booked out for 6 months later…glad it wasn’t life-threatening, right?
Cue 6 months later and I get a call to schedule an appointment with said specialist…(mind you my symptoms had stopped months ago). Confused because I already had an appointment scheduled, I went ahead and got on the books.
I then double-checked my calendar and sure enough, I had it in there. I called back and explained to the kind receptionist that my appointment was already scheduled. She explained that this was a pre-appointment.
WTF? Okay. As you may tell from my sarcasm I’m not a fan of doctors :)
I went to the pre-appointment, (alone because I made sure I had a sitter) and was in and out in about 30 minutes and they didn’t have me do all the testing because my symptoms were no longer happening. Easy peasy.
The next week I went to my actual appointment…and I’ll preface that I didn't have a sitter, but figured I’d strap Gracie in, take some snacks, and we’d knock out this appointment just like the last one, no problem.
Ha!
I check in and the sweet receptionist gets my information and says, “Okay thank you, and just a reminder that your lobby wait time is between 1 and 3 hours.”
You all…bless the many hours I’ve spent working on myself because the old me would have let my emotions show. Instead, I laughed a little and said, “Excuse me? 1 to 3 hours?”
“Yes. Her appointments really depend on the patient. You should have been told that when you booked your appointment.”
“Ummm okay (biting my tongue). Nope, that wasn’t relayed to me, and (looks down at Gracie and the time of my next scheduled event) that’s probably not going to work.”
“Sorry about that and hopefully it’s the lesser of the time.”
I smile (knowing this isn’t her issue), take a deep breath, take my paperwork, and head to get settled in.
Gracie runs over to the child's area (thankful as they have a peds side). I fill out my paperwork and get called back about 20 minutes later.
I step back into the same room from last week where the nurse apologizes that I have to do the same test as last week, but needed to prove there was no issue popping up.
Picture a sticker over your eye, putting your face into a machine, realizing you’re smelling a fresh, hot steamer of a diaper, seeing a little hand trying to reach into the machine all while “relaxing your face” and clicking a button every time you see a little white light.
It’s laughable now!
I finished my clicking and I asked if she had a more specific time for this specialist rather than 1-3 hours. She was very optimistic to share that it would be only about 45 minutes and then the appointment itself would be 45 minutes.
Yeah, sorry friends, that’s not going to work.
I smiled, thanked her, go change Gracie’s diaper, and went to the receptionist to let her know that I wasn’t going to be able to stay due to other commitments.
She apologized for them not giving me a heads up and asked if I wanted to reschedule…no, no thank you.
So, let’s just not even talk about the fact that a 3-hour window is the best they can do in 2024…let’s talk about how communication could have made this an entirely different situation:
Ensuring the 1-3 hour wait time was relayed at the time the appointment was made
When the confirmation text was sent, they could have stated that it was a 1-3 wait time
When they called to schedule the pre-appointment, they could have explained that it was a pre-appointment, reminded me of my appointment the next week, AND reminded me that it was a 1-3 hour wait time
When that confirmation text was sent, they could have stated that it was a 1-3 wait time
Is this too much?
Some may say, you’re an adult and it’s your responsibility. BUT, they’re already contacting me, right? Why wouldn’t you add that very important information in there?
I 100% would have made sure I had a sitter, made sure I didn't schedule anything for that time frame and brought my laptop in to get some work done or a book to read.
Can you see how it would be an entirely different customer experience?
I’d love for you to look at your customer experience and see where you can add in a couple of touches that may take a little more work on your end (these can also be automated) but can make you look like a baller. Even, a “just a heads up that we’re on target with your (insert service here) and can’t wait to share at our upcoming meet.”
These will wow your customers and have them raving about how well you took care of them mostly because you didn’t make them wonder what the next step was or if you needed anything from them.
Hello, referral city!