People will forgive a mistake.
They will not easily forget being ignored, dismissed, or run around.
Good customer service keeps people coming back.
Poor customer service quietly shows them the door.
They will lock into their psyches what you looked and sounded like too
You will now occupy a negative space within their life journey
When you don’t care, then others run with that message
You would have to be pretty dense not to realize that running people around eventually catches up with you.
Sooner or later, it shows up in the numbers.
And usually in ways you did not expect.
When I was in charge of a major popular restaurant, I used to stand at the doors and welcome people when they arrived and wish them well when they left.
I kept that up for about three months.
Something strange happened.
My sales went UP.
Now, I was not standing there with a calculator.
LOL.
I was just paying attention to people.
But people noticed.
COURTESY WORKS WONDERS
That time at the front door turned out to be some of the best time I could have spent.
I was on the front lines.
Talking.
Listening.
Smiling.
Remembering faces.
Welcoming people.
Thanking people.
And that applies whether you are dealing with customers in person, on the phone, through email, or anywhere else.
After a while, the place would be booked on Friday and Saturday nights.
People came for the food.
The atmosphere.
The company.
But one customer finally gave me a clue.
She said:
“We come in to watch you visit with people.”
LOL.
Imagine that.
Apparently I was part of the entertainment.
But underneath that comment was something important.
People like being recognized.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SELLS ITSELF
Customer service sells without looking like selling.
That is its beauty.
You are not pushing anything.
You are creating value.
There is a feeling created when somebody senses:
“They see me.”
“They appreciate me.”
“They are glad I came.”
That is hard to put on a spreadsheet.
But it eventually lands there.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Glad to see you.
Let me help.
Sorry about that.
I will take care of it.
Those words do not cost much.
But when they are real, they can be worth plenty.
And here is the opposite.
Being ignored.
Being transferred five times.
Being put on hold forever.
Being treated like the problem.
Being spoken down to.
Being told:
“That is our policy.”
LOL.
Nothing warms the heart like hearing that one when you already have a problem.
POOR SERVICE HAS A LONG MEMORY
Businesses sometimes think the transaction ends when the customer walks out.
It does not.
The customer leaves with a story.
And they tell it.
Good story?
They may tell a few people.
Bad story?
Oh boy.
LOL.
That story grows legs.
Then somebody asks:
“How was that place?”
And there goes your advertising department without your permission.
Customer service is not what the company says about itself.
It is what the customer says about the company AFTER dealing with it.
IT GOES BEYOND WORDS
Handling people and their problems is a specialized skill.
It is not just about saying the correct phrase.
People can tell when they are being pacified.
They can hear:
“I understand your concern”
and know immediately that nobody understands anything.
LOL.
Good service requires action.
Somebody has to recognize the human being caught in the problem.
Not just the invoice.
Not just the order number.
Not just the complaint ticket.
The PERSON.
That person may be frustrated.
Embarrassed.
In a hurry.
Confused.
Already having a terrible day.
Maybe the problem was partly their fault too.
So what?
You are still dealing with a human being.
HELP FIRST — ARGUE LATER
This is where businesses get themselves in trouble.
They start trying to prove who is right.
Why?
What exactly did you win?
You may prove the customer wrong…
and lose the customer.
Congratulations.
LOL.
That is a pretty expensive victory.
Sometimes there is a legitimate boundary.
Sometimes a customer is unreasonable.
Sometimes you cannot give them exactly what they want.
Fine.
But you can still treat them correctly.
Respect does not require surrender.
It requires professionalism.
THE CUSTOMER ISN’T ALWAYS RIGHT…
Here is the mantra that served me well:
The customer is not always right…
BUT THEY ARE NEVER WRONG.
Now before somebody starts arguing with me…
PAUSE.
I am not saying customers cannot be mistaken.
Of course they can.
I am saying their EXPERIENCE is never wrong to them.
If they feel ignored, that feeling is real.
If they feel mistreated, that experience is real.
If they feel unappreciated, that is what they are taking home with them.
And that is what matters.
You can stand there explaining why they should not feel that way until closing time.
LOL.
Or you can deal with what is in front of you.
RICHIE SPEAKS
A customer does not care how many departments you have.
They care whether ONE PERSON will take ownership.
Another Richie rule:
If you make somebody climb a mountain just to get an answer…
do not be shocked when they spend their money somewhere flatter.
LOL.
And one more:
Every complaint is either an interruption…
or free consulting.
Depends on how smart you are.
THE REAL SALE HAPPENS AFTER THE SALE
Anybody can be nice before the money changes hands.
That is easy.
The real test comes afterward.
Something went wrong.
The order is late.
The food is cold.
The product broke.
The appointment was missed.
The customer is frustrated.
NOW what do you do?
That moment determines whether you have a customer…
or a former customer.
Anybody can take the money.
Customer service decides whether they come back.
FINAL THOUGHT
Courtesy is not decoration.
It is business.
Listening is business.
Respect is business.
Following through is business.
And treating people like people is very good business.
Poor customer service is the kiss of death because it slowly removes trust.
One bad interaction.
Then another.
Then another.
Eventually the customer stops complaining.
That may sound like good news.
It is not.
They stopped complaining because they stopped coming.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Excellent customer service builds loyalty by combining courtesy, empathy, ownership, and action. Customers may forgive errors when they feel respected and genuinely helped, but poor communication and indifference can permanently damage trust.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with the Pearls themes of communication, credibility, awareness, and common sense.
Good customer service is simply those principles put to work.
Listen.
Recognize the person.
Handle the problem.
Leave them better than you found them.
That is not complicated.
But it is rare enough to become a competitive advantage.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
A recurring Pearls lesson is that what we give eventually comes back through the people and situations around us.
Courtesy creates courtesy.
Respect creates trust.
Attention creates connection.
And indifference creates distance.
In business, that distance eventually shows up at the cash register.
MY MANTRA SERVED ME WELL
The customer is not always right…
BUT THEY ARE NEVER WRONG.
Go ahead and argue with them if you want.
Then watch your bottom line discover some brand-new bottoms.
LOL.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you