August 15, 2024 • 43 mins
Ever wondered how to transform one-time customers into lifelong supporters? Jonathan reveals how his 12-plus years of experience in customer service excellence have fueled his business success. Tune in to hear personal strategies that can help you leverage positive online reviews to enhance your profitability and reputation. Jonathan shares how his meticulous approach to customer service on platforms like Yelp and Google has set his business apart in a competitive market.
What does it take to turn a one-star review into a five-star testimonial? Jonathan dives into the importance of setting realistic expectations and maintaining transparent communication with clients. Hear about an incident where he turned a dissatisfied customer into a raving fan by actively listening and addressing their concerns. This segment highlights the power of honest communication and dedication to customer satisfaction, providing you with actionable insights to apply in your own business.
Lastly, discover the art of handling customer complaints with grace and professionalism. Jonathan recounts real-life examples of managing negative reviews and turning them into opportunities to showcase his commitment to quality. Learn how consistent, reliable service and empowering employees can build a strong referral base and elevate your business. As Jonathan wraps up, he expresses heartfelt gratitude for his listeners' support and shares his eagerness to continue this journey of growth and excellence together. Don't miss these invaluable tips and stories that can help you achieve long-term business success through exemplary customer service.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and I amyour host of the Business Guide.
Thank you so much for joiningus on another episode.
Today's episode is going to beone of the most critical aspects
of running a business.
It is customer service andhaving excellent customer
(00:20):
service.
You need to understand that youcan use customer service as
leverage to build your businessand make more money, but it's
easier said than done.
So if you're wondering how toturn a one-time customer into a
lifelong supporter of yourbusiness, then stick around for
this episode.
I'm going to share provenstrategies that I have
(00:42):
personally used on my businessesthat will help you build and
retain a loyal customer base foryears to come.
So if this is your first timejoining us again, I am Jonathan.
I am a business owner in thetough market of Southern
California.
I've been in business over 12years.
(01:03):
I've had a couple differentbusinesses along the way, but my
primary anchor business is awater damage restoration company
.
So dealing with fire, water,insurance companies, all that
fun stuff.
I have had my fair share ofbuilding a business, cash flow
issues, employee issues, youname it.
(01:24):
I have definitely experiencedit.
So the point of this podcast isto come together and really
create a community.
I have been just so tired ofjust going online and seeing so
many different gurus on theretrying to give you business
advice and they're just so outof touch.
(01:46):
Sometimes you've got eitherfailed business people that are
coming on and trying to sell youa service or you've got some
gurus on there that are not evenin the small business category
anymore.
They're worth millions andmillions and millions of dollars
and so out of touch of what wedeal with as business owners or
(02:08):
small business owners.
So I wanted to create a podcastwhere we talk about those
struggles, we talk about thosehurdles, we talk about our
milestones and how we have justovercome different problems.
As I've talked to differentfriend groups, different
business owners We've all beenin the same boat or very close
to the same boat and just beingable to open up and talk through
(02:33):
something as simple as maybehiring your first employee or
having to get rid of that toxicemployee or maybe some cash flow
issues, can really make all thedifference in the success of
your business.
So I'm here as a free resourceand just want to build good
content to help other peoplesucceed.
As I have loved being inbusiness, I would not trade it
(02:58):
for anything in the world to goback and be an employee.
I really do love and enjoy whatI do.
So again, first time here, thatis who I am.
And moving forward on today'sepisode, it is all about
customer satisfaction.
Now I'm going to swim in and outof maybe just the topic of what
(03:19):
is excellent customer service,but I really want the message in
this episode to come across, asthis is a tool.
So, while it is awesome to havea great customer service and
have your brand, have greatcustomer service and your
employees, at the end of the day, great customer service, and if
(03:40):
you can't monetize that, thenwhat's the point?
You've got a good reputation,which is great, which is great.
I don't want to build abusiness where we have a poor
reputation and I've done badthings in the community or to
other people.
Sorry, I have neglected to putmy phone on airplane mode, so it
(04:03):
is just going off right now, soapologies.
There A little train of thought.
I'm sorry, as if this is yourfirst time here, I do these
unscripted and no edits, so Ilike this to be as raw as
possible.
So back to customer service aspossible.
(04:27):
So back to customer service.
The message I would really liketo get across on or across on
this episode is I have been ableto monetize customer service
for me and my business and Ihave made so much money I mean,
it's definitely in the millionsoff of having a great reputation
.
And this day and age, I amtalking about reviews.
So great customer service andobviously, them being posted
online are going to go hand inhand on this episode.
(04:50):
Right, this is no longer justhaving a good customer service
and turning your customers intoa loyal base, but you also want
them to be a billboard for yourbusiness, and the beautiful
thing of you know Yelp andGoogle and all these different
review platforms is you can havea customer and that five-star
(05:10):
review can reach thousands ofpeople through its lifetime and
make you a tremendous amount ofmoney and can really set you
apart from your competition.
So it is important to alwayshave good customer service, if
you have not picked that up bynow.
So, moving into the coreprinciples of excellent customer
(05:34):
service Now, back when I firststarted my business and I
explained this on a previousepisode, but I had a mentor, if
you will, and a former employerthat was in the same industry as
me, and that was carpetcleaning at the time.
That's how I started my businessand one thing that I had asked
(05:56):
was you know, is there any tipsyou can give me to get the
phones to ring, or whatever itmay be?
And he had said hey, you know,whatever you do, make sure your
business is not listed on Yelp.
It has ruined my business.
I have a ton of negativereviews and previously working
for this gentleman, I knew helegitimately cared about his
(06:18):
customers.
He left a great product behindand just, I mean, was an overall
great guy and a great business,but he had some negative
reviews online.
So the first thing I did thatnight was I went out and filled
out a Yelp listing.
Now, at that time this wasprobably late 2012,.
You know, reviews were justkind of taking off for maybe
(06:40):
service-based businesses likemyself.
They were already prettypresent in the restaurant field,
if you would, but were justkind of coming down to maybe
home service businesses andthings like that.
So I decided I really wanted tostand out.
So I went on, I filled out alisting and I made it a mission
that every customer that I had Iwould ask them for a Yelp
(07:02):
review, and I was a stickler onthis.
I mean I was going out to everysingle project.
There is so much work that goesinto making sure your customer
has had a good experience andthen obviously, you know the
follow through to make sure thatthey're leaving you an online
review or a nice testimonialthat they send you so you can
post online.
(07:22):
Now, the online testimonialsare definitely great.
If somebody doesn't leave you areview, I mean I definitely
want people to know that they'vehad a good cut or my previous
clients have had a good customerexperience.
But you know, if you've got atestimonial online, specifically
your website, that can bealtered.
People can see right through it.
(07:44):
If you have a poor reputationonline and a ton of phenomenal
testimonials on your website, sothose are definitely great.
But reviews are a great anchorright now and again, I'm talking
all about being able tomonetize this stuff make money,
feed your family, grow yourbusiness, do big things starts
(08:07):
with a simple request of can youleave me a review for my
business on Yelp or Google?
Now, throughout the years, ithas changed.
I have seen the way Yelp haskind of maneuvered.
I have seen a lot ofservice-based businesses go away
from Yelp, maybe more ontoGoogle.
Myself, I do like Yelp.
(08:28):
I'm not as pushy on Yelp.
If you will, I'm not asking myclients for Yelp reviews.
I'm just saying, will you go onand leave us a review if we do
ask, and that may be Yelp, itmay be Google, maybe some other
platforms, but primarily Googleis a pretty good place now.
(08:50):
So some good foundations ofcustomer service is going to be
active listening.
You're going to have to haveempathetic responses and a A
going above and beyondexpectation.
(09:12):
So I feel that, as I've trainedmy crews and my employees, the
going above and beyond is thefirst thing.
Now this could be adouble-edged sword too, because
you really start jumping throughhoops for clients.
You're going to see how quicklypeople take advantage of that.
(09:32):
Now, throughout the years,we've been able to obviously
learn from our mistakes, pick upon hey, is this person trying
to pull one over on us, orwhatever it may be?
But yeah, because theydefinitely use maybe an online
reputation as a little bit of aleverage when I'm trying to
maybe get a discount if theythink your prices are too high
(09:52):
or whatever it is.
So it's definitely adouble-edged sword.
But again, primary focus is tomake money, is to build the bank
and customer service is huge,getting those reviews.
So active listening.
When I have somebody or my teamhas somebody that is just not
happy with our service, we makesure that we are actively
(10:18):
listening to what their issue is.
We are making sure we're notgiving a bunch of excuses back
of maybe why it didn't get done.
So you know we are always inthe wrong.
I really do.
I do want to say, even thoughthis is a loaded statement, but
(10:41):
the customer is always right.
Yes, the customer for us isalways right.
So we do approach ourconversations as such.
So I know when I was firstcarpet cleaning maybe there was
an area that didn't get as cleanas the customer thought it
would I would say, hey, I haveno problem going over this area.
(11:04):
Again, matter of fact, before Ipacked up my equipment, I would
have a customer come throughand do a walkthrough and I would
make sure that it was up totheir expectations.
A little key strategy in thatas well was I would lower their
expectations and I would deliverwhat I deliver, and most of the
time it was to exceed theirexpectations.
So again, I'm going to use thecarpet cleaning as an example.
(11:26):
Maybe I went in and theircarpets were just so beat up.
I would really just take theirexpectations and I would really
just bury them into the dirt.
I would say, look, thesecarpets are pretty beat up.
They're a little older.
I can tell there's a lot ofwear and tear.
Unfortunately, there's probablynot much I can do for you.
If you would like to proceed.
(11:46):
This is the price and I will domy best job to get these as
clean as possible.
And that normally, you know,obviously translated in to the
sales side of well, this guy'snot being super pushy on his
prices and I really want to getmy carpets clean, so I'm just
going to have it done anyways.
I'm not going to replace mycarpet.
(12:07):
So nine times out of 10, theywould tell me to start anyways.
And even if the carpets wereclean and maybe there was a
couple of stains, I would say,hey, this is a stain in this
area that I might not be able toget up and I would set that
expectation.
I would go through and I woulddo a phenomenal job, or the
carpets would just clean up,great.
And I would then come back,have a walkthrough before I
(12:30):
packed up If there was an areathat I needed to re-hit, I would
go ahead and re-hit that.
So that carpet cleaning and Ireally this hits home for me
because this is when I wasgrowing my business.
This was the firsthandexperience that I had with my
customers.
I really got to intimately workwith them.
I got to see what worked, whatdidn't work.
So this is where my experiencereally kicked in on the customer
(12:53):
service.
So one is if I knew they hadmaybe a mediocre carpet, I would
take those expectations.
I would really wear them downinto the ground and then I would
deliver just a great productand that alone the customer was
super excited.
So set your customers'expectations.
Don't leave a lot of room forthem to be disappointed.
(13:14):
Be honest, be transparent.
Don't over-deliver somethingthat you can't do.
If I walked in and said I'mgoing to make these carpets look
brand new and I wasn't able todeliver them looking brand new,
then the customer is going tohave a negative experience with
what I promised them.
So number one set thatfoundation.
(13:37):
Obviously, if a client was nothappy with my service, I would
actively listen.
So let's just say now I walkedback in and I walked them
through and I said, hey, whydon't we go over this area again
.
This was a problem area, maybea high traffic area that I'm
having problems getting clean.
Let me show you and I would goin and I would clean that in
(13:58):
front of them, I would activelylisten to the customer's
complaints and I would reallyput it back on them.
They would be right there withme watching me fix this issue.
Then in return, gosh, there'sreally nothing else he can do
Now.
Adapting into future or, excuseme, moving on into the future
(14:21):
Now I have employees and I'mdealing with issues that are
outside of my control.
When we are handling a customerservice complaint, it is really
hearing that customer out.
I'll give you an example.
We have a pretty goodreputation on Yelp five stars
across the board.
A gentleman had reached out atprobably seven o'clock on a I
(14:45):
don't know, it was a Saturday atthe time.
This was years ago.
At the time I was filling theYelp inbox, if you will.
So that was my responsibilityand I shot the customers a
message and said, hey, thissounds like it is not an
emergency.
And in my situation again now,being a water damage restoration
company anything where we don'thave active flooding or we have
(15:09):
to get up water.
It's not really an emergency.
So again, this being a Saturdaynight, I remember I was
watching a parade I said, hey,this doesn't sound like it's an
emergency.
It was a mold request.
I will reach out to you Mondaymorning.
Yeah, it was a Saturday.
I'll reach out to you Mondaymorning and we will get your
information and we will come outand set up a free estimate for
(15:30):
you.
That gentleman proceeded toleave us a one star on Yelp and
said that I was super rude anddid not relate to what he was
going through.
The way Yelp notified me at thetime.
It came through about an hourlater, so it wasn't instant and
at that time it was a little toolate.
So the next morning, on aSunday morning, I called him and
(15:50):
said hey, I want to apologizefor my tone.
I didn't mean to downplay whatyou're going through.
I explained the differencebetween a flooding and a mold
and I said that I wouldpersonally come out and assess
his property that day.
Now, again, double-edged sword.
(16:11):
This is where I'm totallyjumping through hoops for the
clients.
This is something that we havedone in business.
It's your threshold If it worksor doesn't work.
It works for us, it works formy team to go above and beyond
for the customer.
I got out immediately.
It was probably I mean, I don'twant to give an amount, but it
was thousands of dollars worthof work and the guy gave me the
(16:35):
green light right there onSaturday and on Monday we
started.
After we started I really kindof tipped off the employees.
I said, look, we have aone-star review from this guy.
We are really working to kindof repair that relationship.
Just go above and beyond, andthey did.
They answered questions, theyshowed what they were doing and
(16:56):
the customer loved our businessand went back and updated the
review to a five-star review.
So that was how I was able totake the one-star and turn it
into a five-star Again.
Not every business is going tobe down for that.
For us it worked and for everyfive-star review we've got on
(17:18):
our page.
This is a testament to our goodcustomer service, but also a
verification.
So I could have a plumber, forexample, refer me to a water
damage in a bathroom or akitchen and say, hey, you should
call this company.
They are super cool people andthey're going to really take
(17:40):
care of you.
Well, that customer's got thathot lead from that plumber.
Now what the customer is doing,and we have found, is they go
on and check our onlinereputation.
So this is where that onereview inadvertently or kind of
indirectly, if you will makes memoney.
Where this person is justchecking, hey, this is a good
(18:03):
company, this person had goodexperience and I'm going to call
them and that is proven to bethe case for us and our
customers.
They're always kind of checkingour online reputation.
So having that excellentcustomer service is huge.
In that situation I wasempathetic.
I kind of took the blame.
After actively listening to thefrustration of that guy, did
(18:26):
fall back.
Look, if you've got a big ego,this is not going to work for
you, this is not going to workfor your business.
Assign it to somebody else todo.
But I was able to activelylisten to the guy, be empathetic
and have my team buildexpectations and exceed those
expectations and in return wegot a positive review and a
(18:47):
happy customer.
So this is corely where we havebeen able to make money with
our good reputation.
If you will Excuse me, moving onas a business owner, especially
a small business owner or theone that is out there doing the
(19:10):
work, it can be so frustratingto see a negative review or a
customer complaint come throughyour email box.
It is okay to have customerscomplain about your business.
Matter of fact, it adds a levelof this business is a real
(19:32):
business and gives a customer anopportunity to maybe look at a
review or look at a testimonialand say this particular customer
was being ridiculous.
But I liked how the businesshandled this situation.
Now, one thing that I would dofor fun when I was first
starting the business is I wouldgo online and I would look at
negative reviews of mycompetitors and I would look at
(19:54):
their response, and this becamesomething that I actively did,
just preparing for the day thatmaybe I got a negative review,
which way I would really want togo.
Now I will say my mom she was ina.
She had had a dog grooming shopfor years.
My mom she was in a.
(20:15):
She had had a dog grooming shopfor years.
Her business consistently gotnegative reviews, never did
anything to kind of bury thosereviews, if you will, and what I
mean by that is, if you've gotone negative review, just try to
get five positive reviews.
Right.
If you go into a restaurant andyou have a really good
experience and you're like, wow,this was the best experience I
had.
Well, odds are, and statisticsshow that you are not going to
(20:38):
leave a review or a positiveoutlook on that business, even
though you had a great customerexperience.
Matter of fact, it takes you 10experiences before you're
finally like, hey, I need to goon and leave this unsolicited
review because they have done agreat job.
But the same situation in thatsame restaurant if you have a
(21:02):
horrible experience one time,you are more likely to go on and
leave that negative review.
Likely to go on and leave thatnegative review.
So asking your clients forreviews and having a positive
customer service for them is socrucial in being able to prepare
your business for a negativereview.
(21:22):
So that is kind of buried underNow in the first, in my earlier
, when I mentioned my mentor, ifyou will, he had a couple bad
reviews.
At the time he had four badreviews and they were dumb
reviews, something he could haveeasily replied to, but, more
importantly, he could have builtup a positive reputation.
(21:44):
Hey, I noticed that these wereissues.
I decided to fix these issuesand I moved on.
He didn't do that.
He took a different approach.
By all means.
He was then scared of thisonline platform, yelp.
So, handling complaints, you'vegot to do it delicately, and
I'm going to give you twosituations that we were able to
(22:05):
handle some complaints, so onebeing something that I stand
behind every single day and willcontinue to stand behind, and
two was just an overall negativereview.
There was really nothing Icould do about it, but the way I
was able to handle it.
So number one was let me goback to a time where this was
(22:25):
literally our first negativeinteraction that had been
published online.
This particular lady we were inher house.
It was a very big project forus.
We had been on it for a couplemonths at the time.
We were moving everything backand she had made racist comments
to my staff and she had madethem over and over again.
(22:48):
And enough where my staffcalled me and said hey, we have
an issue, we don't feelcomfortable here.
Now my crew takes care of meevery single day.
They take care of the business,they take care of our customers
, they take care of everythingright.
So when they feel like theycan't do something or somebody's
(23:10):
in the wrong, I have that, youknow, flexibility of making sure
I have their back.
I will always have their backand in this situation I was able
to have their back.
So I had called the client andconfronted them and said hey,
there were some comments thatwere made, pretty racist
comments, and just want to letyou know.
They weren't appreciated andsome of my staff were offended.
(23:31):
You know, did you make thesecomments?
And the lady stayed true to hercomments, said absolutely, I
made them, there's nothing wecan do.
I was very mean about it and soI politely said hey, we're
going to be done.
At this point we're going to goahead and button up the
operation.
We actually walked back from asizable chunk of the money that
(23:53):
we had already negotiated withher insurance company and even
gave her a couplerecommendations of other people
that may go in and help her.
So, even though my crew was madand we stepped back gracefully
and referred her other companiesin our space that could help
finish the project, she went onand left us a negative review.
(24:15):
That review stayed on my frontpage for approximately a year.
I had customers ask me aboutthat review.
I decided not to reply to thatreview.
Um, it was a review that I wasproud of, and what I mean by
that is, we had done a reallygood job at building a positive
customer service experiencewhere, I mean, we were untouched
(24:35):
by any competitor and we reallystood out.
But to see that, one star forme in something that I thought,
when the time was coming right,when I was finally going to get
our first negative you knowpublic listing how I was going
to handle it, and I was so proudthat I was able to have my
cruise back.
So, um, stand up for what isright in your business.
(25:00):
That is something that, um, youknow I did in that situation
and I was able to um, use that.
Uh, google later, for whateverreason, decided to flag the
review.
I'm not going to say that maybeme explaining it to customers
throughout the year had maybeinfluenced people reporting that
review, but ultimately that wasflagged off and removed.
(25:24):
Moving on to another one that Ijust could not resolve, we had
again I mentioned we are in anemergency service field on a
excuse me, I need to get alittle drink of water.
So on a Christmas Eve years agonormally our crew is off on
(25:53):
Christmas Eve, just kind of onstandby for emergencies we had
had just a downpour the nightbefore, with a big storm coming
in the following day and we hadhad a customer call and she had
(26:13):
asked if we could go tarp herroof.
Normally we don't get up onroofs that were wet.
We explained that and wedecided to make an exception for
her and get up there and takecare of it.
Since it was a flat, flat roof,my guys would be safe and we
got there.
She had asked if she could buythe tarp to save a couple
dollars and we said no problem,she could buy the tarp to save a
couple dollars and we said noproblem.
(26:33):
Well, she had had my crew onstandby for two and a half hours
as they sat in her front lawnwaiting for her to go back to
the store and get the right size, and she'd lived kind of far
away from the hardware store.
My guys were patient and theywere there on Christmas Eve.
She called she had a problemwith the tarp.
She didn't like the way it wasdone.
After we were done and what wehad done was industry standard.
(26:54):
There was nothing that we coulddo differently.
She had actually approved theguys and said it looked great
and they were on their way andnow, at this time they were at
home with their families and shedemanded that I send them back
out.
I said, ma'am, this you knowthis was done industry standard.
There's nothing else we can foryou.
I'm happy to send somebody outthe next business day, but
there's nothing I can do thisevening.
And so that was it.
(27:17):
I heard from her, I think, acouple days later.
She was dissatisfied.
I actually gave her a refund.
I said hey, ma'am, there'snothing I can do to resolve this
.
Here you go, here's your refund.
Merry Christmas, happy LateChristmas, whatever it was.
And I had heard from the guysthat the financial situation
wasn't that great, so I justkind of thought it was a ploy to
(27:38):
get a little money from us.
Well, sure enough, about twoweeks later we got a one-star
review from her.
It was really interesting to mebecause we had sent a crew out
on Christmas Eve.
She knew it was Christmas Eve.
She knew it was Christmas Eve.
She knew I called them in.
She knew that we waited for herfor hours while she went and
got this tarp, she could save acouple bucks.
She called and complained.
(28:00):
I handled the complaintexceptionally well and
ultimately ended up giving her arefund.
So there was truly nothing elseI could do.
So the way I handled thatcomplaint is I went on and
explained just that, but I didit nicely.
I said this is the situationand I I had it that I was
talking directly to her.
(28:21):
Since I handled it, sent thiscrew out this day.
We waited for you, weaccommodated you, it was very
nice and I handled the reviewgracefully.
Now I mentioned I would go onand read other people's reviews.
It is amazing how many peoplewill say I never dealt with this
customer.
This customer doesn't like me.
Go on and read yourcompetitor's review replies.
(28:45):
They can be horrible.
It does not take a lot to juststep back and say you know what,
even though I know I was right,somehow I was wrong and it
didn't work out for thiscustomer.
I've had so many customerscommend us on that reply and say
, hey, it didn't work out, butit actually showed your business
(29:06):
was real.
You get negative reviewsbecause at that time we still
didn't have a ton of negativereviews.
We had so many good reviews.
People were like gosh, are youbuying your customer
satisfaction?
So this then sheds light on hey, this is a real company,
they're not bought reviews andwe can trust them.
So, being able to hear out yourclient and even though you may
(29:30):
be wrong or the customer may bewrong, whatever it is, it's okay
to walk back.
Just handle the complaintgracefully and let the chips
fall.
If you do it the right way,your future clients will see.
Hey, you know what?
This client was being a littleunreasonable and this company
was being really good was beinga little unreasonable and this
(29:51):
company was being really good,and they will still earn your
business.
Now, throughout the years, let'sgo offline.
We have been able to build aphenomenal customer base of
referral sources because we'vedone such a great job.
So just because, just becausethey don't go online and leave
you a review doesn't mean thatthey are not going to go tell
(30:16):
their friends and family.
Let's go back old school andremember referrals are the best
compliment in a business.
It is free, it doesn't cost usanything.
You just have to do a good jobfor that client when you're
there.
I have had so many clients again.
Remember I'm in this industrythe water damage restoration
business.
(30:36):
You may never have that servicehappen in your house.
You may never have a fire inyour house.
You may never deal with mold,where I have a loyal fan base of
people always on the lookout,loyal fan base of people always
on the lookout, always on thehunt to refer us new clients.
(30:56):
And, again, it's understandingfor us what they're going
through providing them withexcellent customer service,
exceeding their expectations,doing right by the client.
Right, if I say I'm going to bethere at 8 o'clock, I'm there
at 8 o'clock.
Matter of fact, I'm there at7.55 waiting be on time.
When the client calls, I answerthe phone.
If they can't get a hold of me,I will reply back to them.
(31:19):
Right?
So you want to make sure thecustomer has a great expectation
and through this, justexceeding expectations, then
buttoning up and delivering asolid project back to a customer
.
They are now a huge billboardfor my business.
Now, if their friends or familyor anybody close to them has
(31:40):
ever dealt with this, they jumpon the opportunity to refer us
and by all means we track ourreferrals.
I would recommend you do thesame thing.
Now.
I don't know if this is trueI've never really looked into it
, but years ago I heard a storyof Ritz-Carlton.
Drop me a comment below if youknow if this is true.
(32:02):
Supposedly Ritz-Carlton is ahotel chain, super high-end, but
they want you to have a greatcustomer service or a great
experience in their hotels, andif you are dissatisfied with
anything in their, excuse me.
If you are dissatisfied withyour experience at their hotel,
(32:25):
you can tell anybody, from thegeneral manager all the way down
to the janitors, themaintenance workers, literally
anybody in the food chain attheir hotel, and any employee
has a threshold to give a $500discount or whatever it is.
Now again, I don't know if it'strue.
(32:46):
I was told that story years ago, but I have taken that to heart
of if my guys need to swim backon a charge because a client is
unhappy or they feel that theyneed to give the client a
discount, that they have theauthority to do that without
calling us and asking.
That has paid dividends as well.
(33:09):
So being able to build a brandaround customer service is so
many different things.
It's not just asking forreviews, it's not just going
above expectations.
It's having yourself and youremployees hyper aware of
everything going on at theirproject.
(33:29):
Or, if you're dealing with aproduct, making sure your
product holds up to what you sayit's going to hold up to and
making sure that if there iseven a tiny ounce of hey,
something's wrong, we, as theemployees, are already on top of
it, making sure that it isresolved by default.
(33:50):
The customers have a greatservice or expectation, so this
has really proved true.
I listened to I think it wasGary Vee years ago.
Again, this is another guru.
I don't want to say that he's afake guru, because he's
absolutely not.
Check him out.
Go to Instagram.
Look at his fake guru, becausehe's absolutely not Check him
(34:10):
out.
Go to Instagram.
Look at his stuff.
He puts out great information.
But Gary Vee had he gave anexample years ago of somebody
ordering a wine and having a badexperience and he was able to
ship a wine back over to him andit was just a really easy way
to resolve a customer serviceissue.
(34:33):
And that customer ended uptelling his friend, and his
friend ordered thousands andthousands of dollars worth of
wine.
So, taking that intoconsideration, sending little
gifts going above and beyond,when we have somebody that
refers us, we then will followup on making sure that they know
we appreciate their referral,so we may send a gift basket or
(34:55):
a thank you card or a thank yougift card to a client, because,
again, we track where our leadscome in from, as should you, and
we make sure that our clientsknow hey, not only do we know
that you had a good experiencewith you, know your project, but
you obviously referred us.
We appreciate that and we stillwill go above and beyond for
(35:19):
you and your referral.
Even though you may not be apaying client anymore, you are
still valuable to us, so werecognize that as well.
I would definitely say that, asyou are building your customer
service strategy and you reallyneed to lay out a plan, guys,
this is crucial.
(35:39):
If you have a digital marketingstrategy, if you have a print
strategy, if you have a referralstrategy, any strategy you have
in your business customerservice should be a priority.
To make sure you're writingdown what are you going to do if
you get a complaint?
What are you going to do toexceed expectations?
What are you going to do totrain your employees to you know
(36:01):
?
Shoot, give a discount if theyneed be empathetic?
You need to be at the forefrontof making sure your business
exceeds your customer serviceexpectation.
And again, this is not for fun.
I do want to say again, I wantto emphasize I do not want to
build a brand that is doing adisservice to my community.
(36:22):
I want to build a brand that Iam proud of and that is number
one important for me, and thatis number one important for me.
But I also want to monetize mycustomer's positive experience
and this has proven again along-term build.
(36:43):
But I have made so much moneyoff of having a good customer
service focus-based business, soput it into your business plan.
Every customer you know raiseyour hand if you can say you
meet customers expectations.
Raise your hand if you can sayyou offer good customer service.
(37:07):
Offer good customer service.
Everybody offers good customerservice.
Even the guys that are gettingnegative reviews have a bad
reputation.
They offer good customerexperience and they think that
they are the best.
Create a strategy that trulyseparates you, truly separates
(37:30):
you from your competition.
It will pay dividends.
I want to wrap up this with asuccess story I have jot down.
Share a particular one that Ican remember and the truth is I
(37:59):
could share that one but I wantyou to understand that it is
literally Something that I hearfrom my customers at least once
or twice a week about how theyknow we are so customer focused
(38:21):
that that brought them into ourcompany and ultimately selected
us to handle their project, tohandle their project.
So to share one story and say,hey, this really works for this
one particular client, I wouldactually be giving you a.
I would be doing you adisservice if I didn't say that
(38:44):
having phenomenal customerservice actually keeps the leads
coming in for me almost on aweekly basis.
So it is so important for youand your business to figure out
your customer service strategy,set yourself apart from your
competition, be able to handlereviews graceful or negative
(39:05):
complaints or reviews gracefullyand grow your business.
Remember, it's all about thisin business, right, we do wanna
build a brand.
We do to build a great name inthe community, but we also want
to make money.
A great name in the communityon face value doesn't make you
money unless people arereferring you.
What's the incentive to referyou?
(39:26):
Send them a gift basket, sendthem a gift card, send them a
thank you, Let them know thatthey are appreciated and,
unfortunately, when thatnegative review or negative
client comes through, handle it.
Now, if you're in a customerservice-based industry plumber,
think, plumber, gardener,restoration, anywhere where we
(39:48):
have that customer informationyou have a tremendous upper hand
.
You have the client's contactinformation.
Odds are you've been out to thehouse.
You know their address.
You have their phone numberwhatever it may be a dentist, a
doctor you have that client'sinformation.
Reach out to that customer.
(40:08):
Say what can I do to exceedyour expectations?
I can see that you did not havea positive experience.
Use that to your advantage.
Unfortunately, in restaurants,like the example I gave earlier,
one bad experience, one badnight gets you a bad online
review and odds are you don'thave their contact information.
(40:30):
You can't resolve that, are youdon't have their contact
information.
You can't resolve that.
So, in a service-based business, think of it as a blessing that
you are able to get theiraddress, to get their contact
information, so you can resolveit.
Make yourself stand out.
If you have to walk back from acouple bucks or if you have to
go back out and redo something,go do it.
Make sure that client has agood experience with your
(40:52):
business so they can go on andthey can be a billboard for your
customer service and ultimatelyget you more work.
Remember, at the end of the day,it's all about the money in the
pocket.
You want to be able to growyour business.
You want to be able to growyourself, so don't forget that.
You know, sometimes sucking itup, swallowing some pride and
(41:13):
making sure that you know youstay true to maybe the customer
is always right will really setyou apart from your competition.
So, guys, I really appreciatethe time you have taken to sit
through this episode.
If you've gotten this far, Iappreciate the you know the
(41:33):
engagements on my videos or onthe comment section, or the send
me the text message on thepodcast side.
It is really cool to see thatthere are people actually out
there engaging.
This is on so many differentplatforms, so whatever, however,
this is getting to you, if youcan, please engage with this,
let me know what you think.
Let me please engage with this.
Let me know what you think.
(41:53):
Let me know what your thoughts,let me know what you would like
to see in the future.
And if you have abusiness-related question
regarding your business,something that you're going
through, send me a question orsend me a note and ask me Again.
On the podcast side, you cansend me a text message.
If you're watching the video,you can leave me a comment.
(42:15):
I want to know what you're goingthrough, what kind of questions
you have, and I would love toanswer that.
In my experience of what I havedealt with.
Maybe we can get you throughthat, and if I can't, and it's
out of my league, I'll bringsomebody in here or ask around
and make sure we get answers toyour questions.
It is really important to methat I don't know.
I'm leaving a good thing in theworld of just being able to
(42:44):
help people get to where I amand feel the way that I feel in
business.
I'm thankful for it.
I am and feel the way that Ifeel in business.
I'm thankful for it.
I am appreciative of everythingthat I've had and I've earned
and I just want more people tobe able to benefit.
So I appreciate you, Iappreciate you listening and I
(43:11):
look forward to the next episode.
I look forward to growing withyou as well.
So that's it for today'sepisode on the business guide.
I hope that you found thissuper helpful and I will wrap
this up by saying I'll see younext time.
If you have any questions again, drop me a comment.
But I look forward to talkingto you again.
(43:32):
Take care and have a good day.
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and I amyour host of the Business Guide.
Thank you so much for joiningus on another episode.
Today's episode is going to beone of the most critical aspects
of running a business.
It is customer service andhaving excellent customer
(00:20):
service.
You need to understand that youcan use customer service as
leverage to build your businessand make more money, but it's
easier said than done.
So if you're wondering how toturn a one-time customer into a
lifelong supporter of yourbusiness, then stick around for
this episode.
I'm going to share provenstrategies that I have
(00:42):
personally used on my businessesthat will help you build and
retain a loyal customer base foryears to come.
So if this is your first timejoining us again, I am Jonathan.
I am a business owner in thetough market of Southern
California.
I've been in business over 12years.
(01:03):
I've had a couple differentbusinesses along the way, but my
primary anchor business is awater damage restoration company
.
So dealing with fire, water,insurance companies, all that
fun stuff.
I have had my fair share ofbuilding a business, cash flow
issues, employee issues, youname it.
(01:24):
I have definitely experiencedit.
So the point of this podcast isto come together and really
create a community.
I have been just so tired ofjust going online and seeing so
many different gurus on theretrying to give you business
advice and they're just so outof touch.
(01:46):
Sometimes you've got eitherfailed business people that are
coming on and trying to sell youa service or you've got some
gurus on there that are not evenin the small business category
anymore.
They're worth millions andmillions and millions of dollars
and so out of touch of what wedeal with as business owners or
(02:08):
small business owners.
So I wanted to create a podcastwhere we talk about those
struggles, we talk about thosehurdles, we talk about our
milestones and how we have justovercome different problems.
As I've talked to differentfriend groups, different
business owners We've all beenin the same boat or very close
to the same boat and just beingable to open up and talk through
(02:33):
something as simple as maybehiring your first employee or
having to get rid of that toxicemployee or maybe some cash flow
issues, can really make all thedifference in the success of
your business.
So I'm here as a free resourceand just want to build good
content to help other peoplesucceed.
As I have loved being inbusiness, I would not trade it
(02:58):
for anything in the world to goback and be an employee.
I really do love and enjoy whatI do.
So again, first time here, thatis who I am.
And moving forward on today'sepisode, it is all about
customer satisfaction.
Now I'm going to swim in and outof maybe just the topic of what
(03:19):
is excellent customer service,but I really want the message in
this episode to come across, asthis is a tool.
So, while it is awesome to havea great customer service and
have your brand, have greatcustomer service and your
employees, at the end of the day, great customer service, and if
(03:40):
you can't monetize that, thenwhat's the point?
You've got a good reputation,which is great, which is great.
I don't want to build abusiness where we have a poor
reputation and I've done badthings in the community or to
other people.
Sorry, I have neglected to putmy phone on airplane mode, so it
(04:03):
is just going off right now, soapologies.
There A little train of thought.
I'm sorry, as if this is yourfirst time here, I do these
unscripted and no edits, so Ilike this to be as raw as
possible.
So back to customer service aspossible.
(04:27):
So back to customer service.
The message I would really liketo get across on or across on
this episode is I have been ableto monetize customer service
for me and my business and Ihave made so much money I mean,
it's definitely in the millionsoff of having a great reputation
.
And this day and age, I amtalking about reviews.
So great customer service andobviously, them being posted
online are going to go hand inhand on this episode.
(04:50):
Right, this is no longer justhaving a good customer service
and turning your customers intoa loyal base, but you also want
them to be a billboard for yourbusiness, and the beautiful
thing of you know Yelp andGoogle and all these different
review platforms is you can havea customer and that five-star
(05:10):
review can reach thousands ofpeople through its lifetime and
make you a tremendous amount ofmoney and can really set you
apart from your competition.
So it is important to alwayshave good customer service, if
you have not picked that up bynow.
So, moving into the coreprinciples of excellent customer
(05:34):
service Now, back when I firststarted my business and I
explained this on a previousepisode, but I had a mentor, if
you will, and a former employerthat was in the same industry as
me, and that was carpetcleaning at the time.
That's how I started my businessand one thing that I had asked
(05:56):
was you know, is there any tipsyou can give me to get the
phones to ring, or whatever itmay be?
And he had said hey, you know,whatever you do, make sure your
business is not listed on Yelp.
It has ruined my business.
I have a ton of negativereviews and previously working
for this gentleman, I knew helegitimately cared about his
(06:18):
customers.
He left a great product behindand just, I mean, was an overall
great guy and a great business,but he had some negative
reviews online.
So the first thing I did thatnight was I went out and filled
out a Yelp listing.
Now, at that time this wasprobably late 2012,.
You know, reviews were justkind of taking off for maybe
(06:40):
service-based businesses likemyself.
They were already prettypresent in the restaurant field,
if you would, but were justkind of coming down to maybe
home service businesses andthings like that.
So I decided I really wanted tostand out.
So I went on, I filled out alisting and I made it a mission
that every customer that I had Iwould ask them for a Yelp
(07:02):
review, and I was a stickler onthis.
I mean I was going out to everysingle project.
There is so much work that goesinto making sure your customer
has had a good experience andthen obviously, you know the
follow through to make sure thatthey're leaving you an online
review or a nice testimonialthat they send you so you can
post online.
(07:22):
Now, the online testimonialsare definitely great.
If somebody doesn't leave you areview, I mean I definitely
want people to know that they'vehad a good cut or my previous
clients have had a good customerexperience.
But you know, if you've got atestimonial online, specifically
your website, that can bealtered.
People can see right through it.
(07:44):
If you have a poor reputationonline and a ton of phenomenal
testimonials on your website, sothose are definitely great.
But reviews are a great anchorright now and again, I'm talking
all about being able tomonetize this stuff make money,
feed your family, grow yourbusiness, do big things starts
(08:07):
with a simple request of can youleave me a review for my
business on Yelp or Google?
Now, throughout the years, ithas changed.
I have seen the way Yelp haskind of maneuvered.
I have seen a lot ofservice-based businesses go away
from Yelp, maybe more ontoGoogle.
Myself, I do like Yelp.
(08:28):
I'm not as pushy on Yelp.
If you will, I'm not asking myclients for Yelp reviews.
I'm just saying, will you go onand leave us a review if we do
ask, and that may be Yelp, itmay be Google, maybe some other
platforms, but primarily Googleis a pretty good place now.
(08:50):
So some good foundations ofcustomer service is going to be
active listening.
You're going to have to haveempathetic responses and a A
going above and beyondexpectation.
(09:12):
So I feel that, as I've trainedmy crews and my employees, the
going above and beyond is thefirst thing.
Now this could be adouble-edged sword too, because
you really start jumping throughhoops for clients.
You're going to see how quicklypeople take advantage of that.
(09:32):
Now, throughout the years,we've been able to obviously
learn from our mistakes, pick upon hey, is this person trying
to pull one over on us, orwhatever it may be?
But yeah, because theydefinitely use maybe an online
reputation as a little bit of aleverage when I'm trying to
maybe get a discount if theythink your prices are too high
(09:52):
or whatever it is.
So it's definitely adouble-edged sword.
But again, primary focus is tomake money, is to build the bank
and customer service is huge,getting those reviews.
So active listening.
When I have somebody or my teamhas somebody that is just not
happy with our service, we makesure that we are actively
(10:18):
listening to what their issue is.
We are making sure we're notgiving a bunch of excuses back
of maybe why it didn't get done.
So you know we are always inthe wrong.
I really do.
I do want to say, even thoughthis is a loaded statement, but
(10:41):
the customer is always right.
Yes, the customer for us isalways right.
So we do approach ourconversations as such.
So I know when I was firstcarpet cleaning maybe there was
an area that didn't get as cleanas the customer thought it
would I would say, hey, I haveno problem going over this area.
(11:04):
Again, matter of fact, before Ipacked up my equipment, I would
have a customer come throughand do a walkthrough and I would
make sure that it was up totheir expectations.
A little key strategy in thatas well was I would lower their
expectations and I would deliverwhat I deliver, and most of the
time it was to exceed theirexpectations.
So again, I'm going to use thecarpet cleaning as an example.
(11:26):
Maybe I went in and theircarpets were just so beat up.
I would really just take theirexpectations and I would really
just bury them into the dirt.
I would say, look, thesecarpets are pretty beat up.
They're a little older.
I can tell there's a lot ofwear and tear.
Unfortunately, there's probablynot much I can do for you.
If you would like to proceed.
(11:46):
This is the price and I will domy best job to get these as
clean as possible.
And that normally, you know,obviously translated in to the
sales side of well, this guy'snot being super pushy on his
prices and I really want to getmy carpets clean, so I'm just
going to have it done anyways.
I'm not going to replace mycarpet.
(12:07):
So nine times out of 10, theywould tell me to start anyways.
And even if the carpets wereclean and maybe there was a
couple of stains, I would say,hey, this is a stain in this
area that I might not be able toget up and I would set that
expectation.
I would go through and I woulddo a phenomenal job, or the
carpets would just clean up,great.
And I would then come back,have a walkthrough before I
(12:30):
packed up If there was an areathat I needed to re-hit, I would
go ahead and re-hit that.
So that carpet cleaning and Ireally this hits home for me
because this is when I wasgrowing my business.
This was the firsthandexperience that I had with my
customers.
I really got to intimately workwith them.
I got to see what worked, whatdidn't work.
So this is where my experiencereally kicked in on the customer
(12:53):
service.
So one is if I knew they hadmaybe a mediocre carpet, I would
take those expectations.
I would really wear them downinto the ground and then I would
deliver just a great productand that alone the customer was
super excited.
So set your customers'expectations.
Don't leave a lot of room forthem to be disappointed.
(13:14):
Be honest, be transparent.
Don't over-deliver somethingthat you can't do.
If I walked in and said I'mgoing to make these carpets look
brand new and I wasn't able todeliver them looking brand new,
then the customer is going tohave a negative experience with
what I promised them.
So number one set thatfoundation.
(13:37):
Obviously, if a client was nothappy with my service, I would
actively listen.
So let's just say now I walkedback in and I walked them
through and I said, hey, whydon't we go over this area again
.
This was a problem area, maybea high traffic area that I'm
having problems getting clean.
Let me show you and I would goin and I would clean that in
(13:58):
front of them, I would activelylisten to the customer's
complaints and I would reallyput it back on them.
They would be right there withme watching me fix this issue.
Then in return, gosh, there'sreally nothing else he can do
Now.
Adapting into future or, excuseme, moving on into the future
(14:21):
Now I have employees and I'mdealing with issues that are
outside of my control.
When we are handling a customerservice complaint, it is really
hearing that customer out.
I'll give you an example.
We have a pretty goodreputation on Yelp five stars
across the board.
A gentleman had reached out atprobably seven o'clock on a I
(14:45):
don't know, it was a Saturday atthe time.
This was years ago.
At the time I was filling theYelp inbox, if you will.
So that was my responsibilityand I shot the customers a
message and said, hey, thissounds like it is not an
emergency.
And in my situation again now,being a water damage restoration
company anything where we don'thave active flooding or we have
(15:09):
to get up water.
It's not really an emergency.
So again, this being a Saturdaynight, I remember I was
watching a parade I said, hey,this doesn't sound like it's an
emergency.
It was a mold request.
I will reach out to you Mondaymorning.
Yeah, it was a Saturday.
I'll reach out to you Mondaymorning and we will get your
information and we will come outand set up a free estimate for
(15:30):
you.
That gentleman proceeded toleave us a one star on Yelp and
said that I was super rude anddid not relate to what he was
going through.
The way Yelp notified me at thetime.
It came through about an hourlater, so it wasn't instant and
at that time it was a little toolate.
So the next morning, on aSunday morning, I called him and
(15:50):
said hey, I want to apologizefor my tone.
I didn't mean to downplay whatyou're going through.
I explained the differencebetween a flooding and a mold
and I said that I wouldpersonally come out and assess
his property that day.
Now, again, double-edged sword.
(16:11):
This is where I'm totallyjumping through hoops for the
clients.
This is something that we havedone in business.
It's your threshold If it worksor doesn't work.
It works for us, it works formy team to go above and beyond
for the customer.
I got out immediately.
It was probably I mean, I don'twant to give an amount, but it
was thousands of dollars worthof work and the guy gave me the
(16:35):
green light right there onSaturday and on Monday we
started.
After we started I really kindof tipped off the employees.
I said, look, we have aone-star review from this guy.
We are really working to kindof repair that relationship.
Just go above and beyond, andthey did.
They answered questions, theyshowed what they were doing and
(16:56):
the customer loved our businessand went back and updated the
review to a five-star review.
So that was how I was able totake the one-star and turn it
into a five-star Again.
Not every business is going tobe down for that.
For us it worked and for everyfive-star review we've got on
(17:18):
our page.
This is a testament to our goodcustomer service, but also a
verification.
So I could have a plumber, forexample, refer me to a water
damage in a bathroom or akitchen and say, hey, you should
call this company.
They are super cool people andthey're going to really take
(17:40):
care of you.
Well, that customer's got thathot lead from that plumber.
Now what the customer is doing,and we have found, is they go
on and check our onlinereputation.
So this is where that onereview inadvertently or kind of
indirectly, if you will makes memoney.
Where this person is justchecking, hey, this is a good
(18:03):
company, this person had goodexperience and I'm going to call
them and that is proven to bethe case for us and our
customers.
They're always kind of checkingour online reputation.
So having that excellentcustomer service is huge.
In that situation I wasempathetic.
I kind of took the blame.
After actively listening to thefrustration of that guy, did
(18:26):
fall back.
Look, if you've got a big ego,this is not going to work for
you, this is not going to workfor your business.
Assign it to somebody else todo.
But I was able to activelylisten to the guy, be empathetic
and have my team buildexpectations and exceed those
expectations and in return wegot a positive review and a
(18:47):
happy customer.
So this is corely where we havebeen able to make money with
our good reputation.
If you will Excuse me, moving onas a business owner, especially
a small business owner or theone that is out there doing the
(19:10):
work, it can be so frustratingto see a negative review or a
customer complaint come throughyour email box.
It is okay to have customerscomplain about your business.
Matter of fact, it adds a levelof this business is a real
(19:32):
business and gives a customer anopportunity to maybe look at a
review or look at a testimonialand say this particular customer
was being ridiculous.
But I liked how the businesshandled this situation.
Now, one thing that I would dofor fun when I was first
starting the business is I wouldgo online and I would look at
negative reviews of mycompetitors and I would look at
(19:54):
their response, and this becamesomething that I actively did,
just preparing for the day thatmaybe I got a negative review,
which way I would really want togo.
Now I will say my mom she was ina.
She had had a dog grooming shopfor years.
My mom she was in a.
(20:15):
She had had a dog grooming shopfor years.
Her business consistently gotnegative reviews, never did
anything to kind of bury thosereviews, if you will, and what I
mean by that is, if you've gotone negative review, just try to
get five positive reviews.
Right.
If you go into a restaurant andyou have a really good
experience and you're like, wow,this was the best experience I
had.
Well, odds are, and statisticsshow that you are not going to
(20:38):
leave a review or a positiveoutlook on that business, even
though you had a great customerexperience.
Matter of fact, it takes you 10experiences before you're
finally like, hey, I need to goon and leave this unsolicited
review because they have done agreat job.
But the same situation in thatsame restaurant if you have a
(21:02):
horrible experience one time,you are more likely to go on and
leave that negative review.
Likely to go on and leave thatnegative review.
So asking your clients forreviews and having a positive
customer service for them is socrucial in being able to prepare
your business for a negativereview.
(21:22):
So that is kind of buried underNow in the first, in my earlier
, when I mentioned my mentor, ifyou will, he had a couple bad
reviews.
At the time he had four badreviews and they were dumb
reviews, something he could haveeasily replied to, but, more
importantly, he could have builtup a positive reputation.
(21:44):
Hey, I noticed that these wereissues.
I decided to fix these issuesand I moved on.
He didn't do that.
He took a different approach.
By all means.
He was then scared of thisonline platform, yelp.
So, handling complaints, you'vegot to do it delicately, and
I'm going to give you twosituations that we were able to
(22:05):
handle some complaints, so onebeing something that I stand
behind every single day and willcontinue to stand behind, and
two was just an overall negativereview.
There was really nothing Icould do about it, but the way I
was able to handle it.
So number one was let me goback to a time where this was
(22:25):
literally our first negativeinteraction that had been
published online.
This particular lady we were inher house.
It was a very big project forus.
We had been on it for a couplemonths at the time.
We were moving everything backand she had made racist comments
to my staff and she had madethem over and over again.
(22:48):
And enough where my staffcalled me and said hey, we have
an issue, we don't feelcomfortable here.
Now my crew takes care of meevery single day.
They take care of the business,they take care of our customers
, they take care of everythingright.
So when they feel like theycan't do something or somebody's
(23:10):
in the wrong, I have that, youknow, flexibility of making sure
I have their back.
I will always have their backand in this situation I was able
to have their back.
So I had called the client andconfronted them and said hey,
there were some comments thatwere made, pretty racist
comments, and just want to letyou know.
They weren't appreciated andsome of my staff were offended.
(23:31):
You know, did you make thesecomments?
And the lady stayed true to hercomments, said absolutely, I
made them, there's nothing wecan do.
I was very mean about it and soI politely said hey, we're
going to be done.
At this point we're going to goahead and button up the
operation.
We actually walked back from asizable chunk of the money that
(23:53):
we had already negotiated withher insurance company and even
gave her a couplerecommendations of other people
that may go in and help her.
So, even though my crew was madand we stepped back gracefully
and referred her other companiesin our space that could help
finish the project, she went onand left us a negative review.
(24:15):
That review stayed on my frontpage for approximately a year.
I had customers ask me aboutthat review.
I decided not to reply to thatreview.
Um, it was a review that I wasproud of, and what I mean by
that is, we had done a reallygood job at building a positive
customer service experiencewhere, I mean, we were untouched
(24:35):
by any competitor and we reallystood out.
But to see that, one star forme in something that I thought,
when the time was coming right,when I was finally going to get
our first negative you knowpublic listing how I was going
to handle it, and I was so proudthat I was able to have my
cruise back.
So, um, stand up for what isright in your business.
(25:00):
That is something that, um, youknow I did in that situation
and I was able to um, use that.
Uh, google later, for whateverreason, decided to flag the
review.
I'm not going to say that maybeme explaining it to customers
throughout the year had maybeinfluenced people reporting that
review, but ultimately that wasflagged off and removed.
(25:24):
Moving on to another one that Ijust could not resolve, we had
again I mentioned we are in anemergency service field on a
excuse me, I need to get alittle drink of water.
So on a Christmas Eve years agonormally our crew is off on
(25:53):
Christmas Eve, just kind of onstandby for emergencies we had
had just a downpour the nightbefore, with a big storm coming
in the following day and we hadhad a customer call and she had
(26:13):
asked if we could go tarp herroof.
Normally we don't get up onroofs that were wet.
We explained that and wedecided to make an exception for
her and get up there and takecare of it.
Since it was a flat, flat roof,my guys would be safe and we
got there.
She had asked if she could buythe tarp to save a couple
dollars and we said no problem,she could buy the tarp to save a
couple dollars and we said noproblem.
(26:33):
Well, she had had my crew onstandby for two and a half hours
as they sat in her front lawnwaiting for her to go back to
the store and get the right size, and she'd lived kind of far
away from the hardware store.
My guys were patient and theywere there on Christmas Eve.
She called she had a problemwith the tarp.
She didn't like the way it wasdone.
After we were done and what wehad done was industry standard.
(26:54):
There was nothing that we coulddo differently.
She had actually approved theguys and said it looked great
and they were on their way andnow, at this time they were at
home with their families and shedemanded that I send them back
out.
I said, ma'am, this you knowthis was done industry standard.
There's nothing else we can foryou.
I'm happy to send somebody outthe next business day, but
there's nothing I can do thisevening.
And so that was it.
(27:17):
I heard from her, I think, acouple days later.
She was dissatisfied.
I actually gave her a refund.
I said hey, ma'am, there'snothing I can do to resolve this
.
Here you go, here's your refund.
Merry Christmas, happy LateChristmas, whatever it was.
And I had heard from the guysthat the financial situation
wasn't that great, so I justkind of thought it was a ploy to
(27:38):
get a little money from us.
Well, sure enough, about twoweeks later we got a one-star
review from her.
It was really interesting to mebecause we had sent a crew out
on Christmas Eve.
She knew it was Christmas Eve.
She knew it was Christmas Eve.
She knew I called them in.
She knew that we waited for herfor hours while she went and
got this tarp, she could save acouple bucks.
She called and complained.
(28:00):
I handled the complaintexceptionally well and
ultimately ended up giving her arefund.
So there was truly nothing elseI could do.
So the way I handled thatcomplaint is I went on and
explained just that, but I didit nicely.
I said this is the situationand I I had it that I was
talking directly to her.
(28:21):
Since I handled it, sent thiscrew out this day.
We waited for you, weaccommodated you, it was very
nice and I handled the reviewgracefully.
Now I mentioned I would go onand read other people's reviews.
It is amazing how many peoplewill say I never dealt with this
customer.
This customer doesn't like me.
Go on and read yourcompetitor's review replies.
(28:45):
They can be horrible.
It does not take a lot to juststep back and say you know what,
even though I know I was right,somehow I was wrong and it
didn't work out for thiscustomer.
I've had so many customerscommend us on that reply and say
, hey, it didn't work out, butit actually showed your business
(29:06):
was real.
You get negative reviewsbecause at that time we still
didn't have a ton of negativereviews.
We had so many good reviews.
People were like gosh, are youbuying your customer
satisfaction?
So this then sheds light on hey, this is a real company,
they're not bought reviews andwe can trust them.
So, being able to hear out yourclient and even though you may
(29:30):
be wrong or the customer may bewrong, whatever it is, it's okay
to walk back.
Just handle the complaintgracefully and let the chips
fall.
If you do it the right way,your future clients will see.
Hey, you know what?
This client was being a littleunreasonable and this company
was being really good was beinga little unreasonable and this
(29:51):
company was being really good,and they will still earn your
business.
Now, throughout the years, let'sgo offline.
We have been able to build aphenomenal customer base of
referral sources because we'vedone such a great job.
So just because, just becausethey don't go online and leave
you a review doesn't mean thatthey are not going to go tell
(30:16):
their friends and family.
Let's go back old school andremember referrals are the best
compliment in a business.
It is free, it doesn't cost usanything.
You just have to do a good jobfor that client when you're
there.
I have had so many clients again.
Remember I'm in this industrythe water damage restoration
business.
(30:36):
You may never have that servicehappen in your house.
You may never have a fire inyour house.
You may never deal with mold,where I have a loyal fan base of
people always on the lookout,loyal fan base of people always
on the lookout, always on thehunt to refer us new clients.
(30:56):
And, again, it's understandingfor us what they're going
through providing them withexcellent customer service,
exceeding their expectations,doing right by the client.
Right, if I say I'm going to bethere at 8 o'clock, I'm there
at 8 o'clock.
Matter of fact, I'm there at7.55 waiting be on time.
When the client calls, I answerthe phone.
If they can't get a hold of me,I will reply back to them.
(31:19):
Right?
So you want to make sure thecustomer has a great expectation
and through this, justexceeding expectations, then
buttoning up and delivering asolid project back to a customer
.
They are now a huge billboardfor my business.
Now, if their friends or familyor anybody close to them has
(31:40):
ever dealt with this, they jumpon the opportunity to refer us
and by all means we track ourreferrals.
I would recommend you do thesame thing.
Now.
I don't know if this is trueI've never really looked into it
, but years ago I heard a storyof Ritz-Carlton.
Drop me a comment below if youknow if this is true.
(32:02):
Supposedly Ritz-Carlton is ahotel chain, super high-end, but
they want you to have a greatcustomer service or a great
experience in their hotels, andif you are dissatisfied with
anything in their, excuse me.
If you are dissatisfied withyour experience at their hotel,
(32:25):
you can tell anybody, from thegeneral manager all the way down
to the janitors, themaintenance workers, literally
anybody in the food chain attheir hotel, and any employee
has a threshold to give a $500discount or whatever it is.
Now again, I don't know if it'strue.
(32:46):
I was told that story years ago, but I have taken that to heart
of if my guys need to swim backon a charge because a client is
unhappy or they feel that theyneed to give the client a
discount, that they have theauthority to do that without
calling us and asking.
That has paid dividends as well.
(33:09):
So being able to build a brandaround customer service is so
many different things.
It's not just asking forreviews, it's not just going
above expectations.
It's having yourself and youremployees hyper aware of
everything going on at theirproject.
(33:29):
Or, if you're dealing with aproduct, making sure your
product holds up to what you sayit's going to hold up to and
making sure that if there iseven a tiny ounce of hey,
something's wrong, we, as theemployees, are already on top of
it, making sure that it isresolved by default.
(33:50):
The customers have a greatservice or expectation, so this
has really proved true.
I listened to I think it wasGary Vee years ago.
Again, this is another guru.
I don't want to say that he's afake guru, because he's
absolutely not.
Check him out.
Go to Instagram.
Look at his fake guru, becausehe's absolutely not Check him
(34:10):
out.
Go to Instagram.
Look at his stuff.
He puts out great information.
But Gary Vee had he gave anexample years ago of somebody
ordering a wine and having a badexperience and he was able to
ship a wine back over to him andit was just a really easy way
to resolve a customer serviceissue.
(34:33):
And that customer ended uptelling his friend, and his
friend ordered thousands andthousands of dollars worth of
wine.
So, taking that intoconsideration, sending little
gifts going above and beyond,when we have somebody that
refers us, we then will followup on making sure that they know
we appreciate their referral,so we may send a gift basket or
(34:55):
a thank you card or a thank yougift card to a client, because,
again, we track where our leadscome in from, as should you, and
we make sure that our clientsknow hey, not only do we know
that you had a good experiencewith you, know your project, but
you obviously referred us.
We appreciate that and we stillwill go above and beyond for
(35:19):
you and your referral.
Even though you may not be apaying client anymore, you are
still valuable to us, so werecognize that as well.
I would definitely say that, asyou are building your customer
service strategy and you reallyneed to lay out a plan, guys,
this is crucial.
(35:39):
If you have a digital marketingstrategy, if you have a print
strategy, if you have a referralstrategy, any strategy you have
in your business customerservice should be a priority.
To make sure you're writingdown what are you going to do if
you get a complaint?
What are you going to do toexceed expectations?
What are you going to do totrain your employees to you know
(36:01):
?
Shoot, give a discount if theyneed be empathetic?
You need to be at the forefrontof making sure your business
exceeds your customer serviceexpectation.
And again, this is not for fun.
I do want to say again, I wantto emphasize I do not want to
build a brand that is doing adisservice to my community.
(36:22):
I want to build a brand that Iam proud of and that is number
one important for me, and thatis number one important for me.
But I also want to monetize mycustomer's positive experience
and this has proven again along-term build.
(36:43):
But I have made so much moneyoff of having a good customer
service focus-based business, soput it into your business plan.
Every customer you know raiseyour hand if you can say you
meet customers expectations.
Raise your hand if you can sayyou offer good customer service.
(37:07):
Offer good customer service.
Everybody offers good customerservice.
Even the guys that are gettingnegative reviews have a bad
reputation.
They offer good customerexperience and they think that
they are the best.
Create a strategy that trulyseparates you, truly separates
(37:30):
you from your competition.
It will pay dividends.
I want to wrap up this with asuccess story I have jot down.
Share a particular one that Ican remember and the truth is I
(37:59):
could share that one but I wantyou to understand that it is
literally Something that I hearfrom my customers at least once
or twice a week about how theyknow we are so customer focused
(38:21):
that that brought them into ourcompany and ultimately selected
us to handle their project, tohandle their project.
So to share one story and say,hey, this really works for this
one particular client, I wouldactually be giving you a.
I would be doing you adisservice if I didn't say that
(38:44):
having phenomenal customerservice actually keeps the leads
coming in for me almost on aweekly basis.
So it is so important for youand your business to figure out
your customer service strategy,set yourself apart from your
competition, be able to handlereviews graceful or negative
(39:05):
complaints or reviews gracefullyand grow your business.
Remember, it's all about thisin business, right, we do wanna
build a brand.
We do to build a great name inthe community, but we also want
to make money.
A great name in the communityon face value doesn't make you
money unless people arereferring you.
What's the incentive to referyou?
(39:26):
Send them a gift basket, sendthem a gift card, send them a
thank you, Let them know thatthey are appreciated and,
unfortunately, when thatnegative review or negative
client comes through, handle it.
Now, if you're in a customerservice-based industry plumber,
think, plumber, gardener,restoration, anywhere where we
(39:48):
have that customer informationyou have a tremendous upper hand
.
You have the client's contactinformation.
Odds are you've been out to thehouse.
You know their address.
You have their phone numberwhatever it may be a dentist, a
doctor you have that client'sinformation.
Reach out to that customer.
(40:08):
Say what can I do to exceedyour expectations?
I can see that you did not havea positive experience.
Use that to your advantage.
Unfortunately, in restaurants,like the example I gave earlier,
one bad experience, one badnight gets you a bad online
review and odds are you don'thave their contact information.
(40:30):
You can't resolve that, are youdon't have their contact
information.
You can't resolve that.
So, in a service-based business, think of it as a blessing that
you are able to get theiraddress, to get their contact
information, so you can resolveit.
Make yourself stand out.
If you have to walk back from acouple bucks or if you have to
go back out and redo something,go do it.
Make sure that client has agood experience with your
(40:52):
business so they can go on andthey can be a billboard for your
customer service and ultimatelyget you more work.
Remember, at the end of the day,it's all about the money in the
pocket.
You want to be able to growyour business.
You want to be able to growyourself, so don't forget that.
You know, sometimes sucking itup, swallowing some pride and
(41:13):
making sure that you know youstay true to maybe the customer
is always right will really setyou apart from your competition.
So, guys, I really appreciatethe time you have taken to sit
through this episode.
If you've gotten this far, Iappreciate the you know the
(41:33):
engagements on my videos or onthe comment section, or the send
me the text message on thepodcast side.
It is really cool to see thatthere are people actually out
there engaging.
This is on so many differentplatforms, so whatever, however,
this is getting to you, if youcan, please engage with this,
let me know what you think.
Let me please engage with this.
Let me know what you think.
(41:53):
Let me know what your thoughts,let me know what you would like
to see in the future.
And if you have abusiness-related question
regarding your business,something that you're going
through, send me a question orsend me a note and ask me Again.
On the podcast side, you cansend me a text message.
If you're watching the video,you can leave me a comment.
(42:15):
I want to know what you're goingthrough, what kind of questions
you have, and I would love toanswer that.
In my experience of what I havedealt with.
Maybe we can get you throughthat, and if I can't, and it's
out of my league, I'll bringsomebody in here or ask around
and make sure we get answers toyour questions.
It is really important to methat I don't know.
I'm leaving a good thing in theworld of just being able to
(42:44):
help people get to where I amand feel the way that I feel in
business.
I'm thankful for it.
I am and feel the way that Ifeel in business.
I'm thankful for it.
I am appreciative of everythingthat I've had and I've earned
and I just want more people tobe able to benefit.
So I appreciate you, Iappreciate you listening and I
(43:11):
look forward to the next episode.
I look forward to growing withyou as well.
So that's it for today'sepisode on the business guide.
I hope that you found thissuper helpful and I will wrap
this up by saying I'll see younext time.
If you have any questions again, drop me a comment.
But I look forward to talkingto you again.
(43:32):
Take care and have a good day.
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