Compliments offer businesses a wealth of opportunity

Why is it when we have a bad customer experience we can hardly wait to sit down and write a scathing letter or make an angry phone call? But when we have a great experience, suddenly finding time to compliment the provider or merchant falls to the bottom of the list? I, too, am guilty of this.

I have been back from vacation overseas for almost a month now. In the course of our travels, we had both challenging encounters and simply wonderful ones. In one case, our treatment by an airline was outstanding; I knew a letter of high praise was in order. Why then did it take me weeks to get it done? My very own procrastination got me thinking about compliments and how important they are.

When a business receives a compliment, what do we think of it? Why was the recipient of our great service so impressed that a letter was in order? What does this gesture say about how we usually conduct business? In the case of the airline, I have to admit that I usually have very low expectations for that industry. That said, was my experience really that amazing or was what I expected so bad that anything remotely positive would have warranted a compliment?

That is a question we need to ask ourselves every time we receive a compliment from a customer. For example, when a contractor gets high praise for showing up on time and communicating throughout the process, does that indicate an unusually positive scenario for that company, for that industry or even for the particular customer?

A compliment, like a complaint, is a golden opportunity for a business to:

•Talk to the client to find out why they were moved to write or call.

•For quality control, manage the input of a compliment as you would a complaint.

•Make sure the employee or team mentioned knows they hit a home run.

•Archive those nuggets and use them in training and customer communication.

It would be naïve to think that business owners should expect a compliment with every customer experience, but sometimes just asking really works. But when you ask, make it sincere.

Case in point: Most food servers will ask if everything is OK when you are at a restaurant, and most of us respond on auto pilot with a simple, “Yes.” But what if the manager or the chef appeared, engaged you in conversation, and then sincerely asked, “How was your dinner tonight, Jan? We are working on some enhancements and would love your feedback.”

Whole different question, isn’t it? People love to share opinions, and we should do more to encourage that kind of input about our business activities.

Of course you need to capture all this valuable feedback for it to hold value. To gather this kind of data you should:

•Have systematic follow-up with clients after the sale.

•Gather the teams that deliver the end product directly to the customer together to hear the input, talk about it and act on change.

•Not make your customer do all the work, and reach out to them.

Some large retailers encourage customers to give feedback on their Web sites after the sale. But how many of us will take the time to say a simple nice word or two? Not many. This kind of tool caters more to angry people looking to vent than the simple small compliment that really makes a difference.

Don’t get me wrong: Encouraging feedback, even negative, is critical to your success. But making the client do all the work, like going to a Web site to input information, weeds out a whole lot of what you need to hear so you can focus on what you do well and enhance it.

I received a phone call from my car’s manufacturer about my experience with the dealer when I purchased the car. The questions were all about my customer service experience, not about the car. What a way to let your client know it matters what they think and that you care about the relationship.

I know the grocery store is not going to call me each time I make my market run, but when they see me once or twice a week, what value would they give me and all other customers if they stopped me once a year to ask three simple questions: What could they do better? What do they do best? And what do I wish they could start doing? Who knows what would come out of 10 such conversations each month with different customers.

As money tightens, cultivating return customers and positive word of mouth will help your business succeed when others may fail. When you have that “knock your socks off” experience, take time to let all involved know. Rewarding good behavior is good for the marketplace.