What creates customer loyalty in an instant?

Service. The type of service that you give your customers determines whether they will look for a new provider or stick with you. How is your customer service?

I know, this all sounds so basic so what’s the point? In the last week, I have experienced fantastic service and I’ve experienced service that made me so frustrated I wanted to throw up.

You see in today’s economy customer satisfaction is not enough - it’s all about the loyalty you build with your customers.

Recipient of Great Customer Service and Care

I had to take my car into be serviced, because the dreaded service engine soon light came on. I was in an accident 2 months ago and my fear was it was accident related. I schedule the appointment and arrived at the dealership. They ran diagnostics on the car and told me it looked like they would need to do a smoke test, rather than make me wait they reset the light told me I’d be fine and just call them when it came back on and we would arrange the service. They would also make arrangements with the body shop that fixed it, since it seemed to be accident related, to make sure I did not have to pay out of pocket to have it repaired. The light came back on 3 days later. They scheduled a time for me to bring the car in and would give me a loaner so I wouldn’t have to drive a rental car. I’m not a snob, but come on a BMW is not a Ford Focus. I dropped the car off on the designated day and my service advisor said that he’d call me later that day when the car was ready. He called at about 3:00 PM in the afternoon and told me they would not be done that day – but he had good news the cause of the “service engine soon” light would be covered under warranty. He called the next morning at 9:00 a.m. to tell me the car could be picked up. I arrived the pick up my car, it has been washed, cleaned and ready to go. There was no wait, it was as easy as exchanging the loaner car for my car, signing the paper work and driving back to the office.

Truth is the BMW dealership makes me want to always own a BMW. They’ve earned my loyalty. They always take care of me and make things easy for me and my schedule. Every time I leave the dealership I’m proud of my car because they deliver it in tip-top shape and looking beautiful. They simply go out of their way to create a fantastic customer experience.

Ready for my bad experience?

I purchase software all the time to stay on top of the trends and make sure that I’m being as efficient as I can be. I purchased a software item recently and it did not work according to what was advertised. I needed the software to complete a project and since it did not work I had to find another solution. This caused me to have to purchase another product. I wrote the first company regarding my disappointment, was answered 72 hours later with suggestions on fixing the problem. How many of you could wait 72 hours to solve a problem? I couldn’t which is why I had to purchase the second software product. I asked for a refund, explained the issue and the time sensitivity for a solution and I was told I would not get a refund – that was not their policy. I will not purchase another software product from them, I will not refer their products to any one and more than likely I’ll detour any one from purchasing from them. They’ve not only lost any chance at creating loyalty with a customer, but they’ve created the worst case scenario which is negative word-of-mouth marketing.

What can you do to improve your service and create customer loyalty?

Go out of your way and create an experience with each and every customer. Make them feel special not like a number. Do you need a little added proof that it’s worth it. Consider the benefits that come with loyal customers:

• Repeat purchases
• Increase the volume of what they purchase from you
• They will buy across your product lines
• They will excitedly refer people to you
• Your competition won’t be able to snag them
• They will always give you the benefit of the doubt even when something goes wrong

Do you have a story to share about your loyalty to a specific company? I’d love to hear it.