Sticky Customer Service

Stop Churning Customers and Start Growing Your Business

Peter Lyle DeHaan

• Publisher: Rock Rooster Books
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781948082594
• eBook ISBN: 9781948082587
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Customer Relations
• Index: Business

Do you lose customers about as fast as you gain them?=

It doesn't have to be that way. 

Customer service isn't a once-and-done effort. It takes ongoing work to truly meet your customers' expectations. In Sticky Customer Service, unearth practical, action-oriented insights to help you turn customer service from an embarrassing weakness into a business strength.

With over three decades of business and entrepreneurial experience, Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, offers his prescriptions to serve customers better and stop driving them away. 

You'll discover:

- The three key areas where customer service occurs and why they must work together.

- How to avoid common errors that too many businesses make.

- Why delighting customers is not the best approach and sets up future failure.

Based on a lifetime of real-world examples, Sticky Customer Service reveals customer service gone wrong and customer service done well. 

Customer service is not a set-it-and-forget-it initiative. Never lose sight of this. Sticky Customer Service will keep you moving forward and on track.

Uncover helpful customer service tips through this compelling read, encouraging you to do better and celebrating what you do best. Learn how to meet your customers' expectations every chance you get.

Get Sticky Customer Service and turn customer retention into a strength.

An Eye for Customer Service

Treat Customers Right to Keep Their Business and Gain New Business

It was an emergency run to the eye doctor. Being farsighted and using a computer all day makes glasses indispensable—a tool I treat with the utmost care. Imagine my dismay when during my morning cleaning routine the frame snapped, and a lens landed in my hand. I was panic-stricken. How could I work?

I arrived at my optometrist’s office just as the doors opened. I explained the situation and, though they treated my disaster as routine, I found comfort in their willingness to help.

“We’ll need to order new frames,” the man concluded.

“Can’t you just fix them?” I begged.

“We could,” he droned, “but there’s no guarantee. It might hold a day, maybe a few months. Don’t worry,” he added, “we’ll get you some loaner frames to use while you wait for your new ones.”

Trusting his advice, I assented.

Questionable Guidance

He disappeared into a back room and returned several minutes later. The look on his face braced me for unwelcome news. “Your frames have been discontinued. We’ll have to fix your old ones. We can solder them.”

Over the years, I’ve done my share of soldering: in electronics to make an electrical connection and in plumbing to seal a joint. I knew solder would not repair my damaged frames for more than a few minutes. I voiced my apprehension.

He smiled and clarified. “It’s more like welding.”

Now I knew he was off base. During a stint working at a machine shop, I did more types of welding than most people know exist. I didn’t see any of those methods working to repair my delicate wire-rims. But I was out of options, so I consented.

He outlined the details: they would send out my broken frames for repair. They’d be back in a few days—maybe Saturday. It would cost twenty dollars.

He then set out to find a loaner frame. After half an hour with no success, he at last uncovered one old demo pair that, although not the right dimensions, would at least hold my lenses in their approximate place. The temple pieces were too short, which tipped the lenses forward, throwing off the bifocals.

I could adapt. I must. Grateful for a solution, albeit uncomfortable and less than ideal, I reminded myself that it was only for a few days and thanked him.

His parting promise left no doubt as to what I should expect. “We’ll call you when your frames come back—let’s hope for Saturday.”

A Broken Promise

As I left, I confirmed the plan at the front desk. “Yes,” she affirmed, “we’ll call when your frames come in.”

I trusted her.

Saturday came without a call. They were closed on Monday. I phoned them on Tuesday. I got an answering machine. Dismayed that they did not answer their phone in the middle of the day, I left a message imploring them to call. No one did. On Wednesday, I called again.

“Sure, they’re here. You can stop in anytime.” She said this as though getting my glasses fixed and returning my life to normal was a trivial matter.

By now, the tops of my ears were inflamed, and the bridge of my nose was tender because of the ill-fitting frames. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Bad Records

The man greeted me soon after I arrived. “It will only take a few minutes to switch lenses,” he said with a smile. I reminded him that the screws holding my lenses in my frames loosen and fall out.

“Don’t worry,” he assured me, “I’ll put in special screws that are chemically treated.”

“No,” I said. “You’ve done that before, and they still fall out. Last time you said you ‘glued them.’” Because of this problem, he had reinstalled my lenses four times in the past three years. Why wasn’t this critical information in my file?

He said nothing, but gave a slight nod of comprehension, retreating into his work area. A few minutes later, he returned, and I donned my restored glasses. What a great feeling. It was just like slipping into a comfortable pair of old shoes.

An Epic Fail

I thanked him and segued to my next goal. “Will you please put my old lenses in another frame—any frame,” I inquired, “so that I can have a backup pair?”

“Your frames have been discontinued,” he said, telling me what I already knew.

“Someone must make a frame that will fit my lenses,” I prodded.

“I already looked, remember?” Now he was getting irritated with me. “You’ll need to order new frames and get new lenses, and before we’ll do that, you’ll need an eye exam.”

“That will be almost five hundred dollars. I can only afford a second frame.”

“You should have an eye exam every year,” he lectured. “It’s been fourteen months for you.”

“I just want a backup frame,” I pleaded.

His reply was curt. “Sorry. We can’t help you.” He turned and walked away.

An Alternate Solution

I mentioned my ordeal—and desire for a backup pair of glasses—to my mother. Mom took this as a personal challenge and the next day surprised me with a list of businesses willing to assist. Two days later, I visited the top one on her list. Their office was closer, easier to get to, and had free parking at the door.

I walked in, explained my plight to the receptionist, and shared my goal. I waited a few minutes and an empathetic young lady greeted me. She listened to my tale of woe, acknowledging that it, too, would have been their preference for an exam, new frames, and new lenses.

But she pledged to try her best to help. She began to search for suitable frames, and I realized her intent was to handle my request right then. She came back with a frame that she hoped would work with some adjustments or by grinding my lenses. I had not expected an immediate resolution, and since there were several other customers waiting, I told her I’d be more than happy to come back later. She thanked me and promised to work on my glasses first thing the next day. I could stop by anytime.

I trusted her.

The next afternoon I returned. She recognized me and approached, beaming. “I have your glasses done,” she glowed with the pride of an artist. “I’m really pleased with how they turned out.”

Based on her sincerity, I knew I’d be pleased as well. She only charged me for the frames. There was no labor fee. She gave me a free case and a discount too. With much appreciation, I thanked her. She said she was glad she could help.

On my first visit, I noticed a sign that gave their repair rates. To solder frames was only five dollars. My old optometrist had charged four times as much. Five dollars would not cover shipping, so I assumed they did the repairs in-house. I suspected I wouldn’t have to wait eight days either.

I’d already decided they would be my new optometrist, but I took one more step to confirm my decision. “How much is an eye exam?” I asked. It was fifty dollars less than what I had been paying. I set up an appointment.

By giving poor customer service, my eye doctor had lost a long-time customer. By going the extra mile, someone else gained one.

How to Lose Business

• Act apathetic toward your customer’s situation.
• Make promises you don’t keep.
• Don’t listen to your customers.
• Make self-serving recommendations.
• Fail to keep accurate records.
• Give customers a reason to check out your competition.

How to Gain Business

• Be genuine and sympathetic, even if it’s a routine matter for you.
• Only make promises you can keep.
• Listen to what customers say.
• Gain credibility by going the extra mile.
• Make sure your customer’s interaction with you is memorable.
• Give customers a reason to never return to their old provider.

My old optometrist closed a couple years later. Given my experience with them, I’m not surprised.

It’s much easier to keep an existing customer than to gain a new one. Where do you place your emphasis?

Customer Service Success Tip

Treat your customers like gold—because they are even more valuable.

Customer Rip-Offs

Make Sure Your Objectives Align with Your Practices

To avoid the huge depreciation loss that all new cars undergo, I buy used. However, there was a season when I bought new. This story is about one of those times.

Although it wasn’t my practice to go to the dealer for maintenance, my new car changed that habit. There was warranty work and the enticement of coupons for low-cost oil changes.

Soon my default destination for auto service changed. It was smart marketing on their part. When the discounts stopped, I still returned to them for service. Too bad their later actions drove me away.

An Expensive Oil Change

It was time for my regular service, and I had a list of other things needing attention. Since I’m not a mechanic, I tried not to tell them what work to do. Instead, I informed them of symptoms. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t ask and pay for a tune-up when the problem may have been a loose vacuum hose. It only took one passive-aggressive mechanic to do what I suggested—while ignoring the real problem—to make me change my approach.

When I dropped off my car, I said, “It’s ...

Table of contents

• Customer Service Matters
• In-Person Customer Service
• Telephone Customer Service
• Online and Multichannel Customer Service
• Put It All Together
• Books by Peter Lyle DeHaan
• About Peter Lyle DeHaan