- May 21, 2018 -
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
While that may be the unofficial motto of the American postman...I'm afraid I failed as a digital postman last week with only getting out two emails.
We had a bit of a natural disaster...
Nothing too serious — I'm fine...thanks so much for so many of you checking up on me. The number of emails, voice messages, text messages I've gotten in the past several days has been a shock.
I really do sincerely appreciate the concern, and it's great to know so many of you are truly “dialed in”...
It's awesome to know that this “relationship” is a two-way street!
So first and foremost, THANK YOU!
No, I haven't given up on sending daily emails during the week.
Yes, I plan on continuing them...because it works.
One of the skills I've mastered over the years is developing strong relationships with my list.
Yes, one way I do it is via daily email, but it's not the only way (if this approach just isn't your thing.)
What happened was that a rare tornado ripped through northeastern PA last Tuesday...and Cheryl's 81-year-old mom's home was right in the eye of the storm.
With only 5 minutes of warning (cell phone and television alerts) winds gathered force, sounding eerily like a freight train barreling through the home.
Massive trees splintered into large pieces and crashed against the windows.
In a matter of minutes, the tornado was gone...on to wreak havok in another area.
Cheryl thankfully happened to be with her mom at the time and stayed until everything was back to normal while I doubled up and kept things going here.
There was no electricity (lights, refrigeration, Internet) or water.
An old generator they had lasted for a couple of hours and died.
One day without any power...understandable.
Two days...a real inconvenience.
Three days...a major disruption.
Four days...nerves are fried. (Buckets of water had to be drawn from their pool just to flush toilets.)
To be honest, Cheryl's mom was a real trooper: "This is like camping!"
In desperation Cheryl called the power company regarding an ETA for restoring power only to be told that the protocol was to restore areas with larger concentrations of population first...and rural areas last.
...and that they simply didn't have the resources to move any faster.
...and they hadn't planned on a tornado.
...and they couldn't give any more information than what was posted on the outage map.
And with that, fury was unleashed and the conversation went like this:
Cheryl: I understand you can't have service contractors on payroll waiting for a disaster...but you're in the POWER business! In fact you've been the ONLY power company in this entire area for decades. And you still don't have a plan in place for when massive outages happen?
Power Rep: I'm sorry. I can't tell you when you'll have power.
Cheryl: Can I please speak with your superior?
Power Rep: I'm sorry. I don't believe any are available — but if you'd like a call-back...
(This line of question/non-answer went on for a while. Voices got testy.)
Cheryl: Let me ask you something. If it was your 81-year-old mother who was dealing with this scenario, how would you react hearing what you're telling me?
Power Rep: I just buried my mother!
Cheryl: I'm very sorry about that...and...and I just buried my father!!
(And a yelling match ensued on whose parent had been gone the longest.)
Funny, not funny.
But by the end of the day, four large power trucks were at the house to replace the transformer and power was restored.
If you're a brick and mortar service-based company...
Or you're a SAAS (Software As A Service) company...
Or if you employ contractors who configure/implement software on behalf of your clients...
Customer service can make or break your reputation.
The quality of your customer service can be the "one thing" that determines retention.
You can't afford to NOT have a Plan "B", a Plan "C" or a Plan "Whatever-the-hell-it-takes" to cover situations that are relative to the service you provide.
Infusionsoft is a CRM with a focus on email delivery. Can you imagine how long they'd be in business if all of a sudden their email servers were down for four days with an ETA for a fix always changing?
Sh*t happens. No company is perfect all the time.
Yes, as customers we all need to be patient, flexible,and forgiving at times.
But making customer service a priority is the NUMBER ONE strategy to guarantee an ROI that is unrivaled.
Imagine the difference you could make by...
+ Treating each customer as if he or she was the only person in the world that matters.
+ Taking an extra minute or two to give someone your total undivided attention and respect.
Need help coming up with a plan to disaster-proof your business? Schedule a free consult with us.
Make it a great day!
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