Droplets of water coated the bedroom ceiling. Water streaks fanned out across three of the four walls of the room. Where was the water coming from? I climbed up the pull-down ladder to the attic. There was no hole in the roof, and there was no moisture anywhere above the room currently pretending to be a sauna. There are no pipes in the ceiling above that bedroom. The mystery continued.

We got our plumber on the phone. He talked me through a couple of diagnostic checks. No solution emerged.

He offered to come to the house, even though it was a Sunday night. We didn’t see any other solution. We knew it would be double the usual price, being both a weekend and being 9:00 at night.

Between the time we hung up the phone and the time the plumber arrived at the house, we were fairly certain we had figured out our dilemma. It had nothing to do with plumbing. Just negligent stupidity. Honest… it was completely unintentional.

The plumber showed up within the 15-minute window he had stated on the phone call. He’d been at our house numerous times over the years. We’ve been customers for approximately 20 years. With three daughters (and my better half), he’s seen just about every plumbing conundrum ever taught at Plumbers University.

He assessed the troublesome moisture, and he essentially repeated some of the steps that I’d examined. Which makes sense because I’m not an expert. After a thorough assessment of our situation, we shared with him what we suspected to be the chief instigator of the problem.

He gave it some more thought. He contemplated what he’d inspected. He agreed with us. This was no plumbing predicament. Just negligent stupidity.

Then, he surprised us. He was NOT going to charge us for the after-hours call on a Sunday night. He’d been in our house less than 15 minutes. It only took him 5 minutes to get back to his shop.

He said, “You’re good customers. I didn’t do anything, and I didn’t use any materials. If the boss gives me crap, I’ll handle it.”

Talk about Customer Service 101.

In an article for the Forbes Business Council, Amit Gandhi writes, “Customer service is about building relationships.” In that same article, Gandhi quotes a report from the Harvard Business Review that states, “the more a customer enjoys the experience with a brand, the more likely they are to become loyal.”

Our plumber didn’t go out of his way to make a big fuss that he was cutting us a break. It was genuine, matter of fact. It was also an unprogrammed decision that, even if the boss gave him some heat for it, he felt comfortable that the friction would blow over. We also did not feel that our plumber was “trained” to act in the manner in which he did. We truly believe it was a sincere, thoughtful act on his part. No strings attached.

Gandhi, musing about Brand Loyalty, cited two significant statistics:

Gandhi believes there are three pillars of acquaintance in the psychology of brand loyalty:

  • Emotional Connection
  • Reliability
  • Community

The first two characteristics are self-explanatory. By Community, Gandhi indicates that a business should focus on making its customers feel like they belong with you. Talk about things that interest them and add value to their lives.

Customer service shouldn’t be left to chance. There needs to be a plan in place. Businesses that strive to deliver remarkable customer service create a positive experience, establish trust, and cultivate long-term relationships.

Gandhi suggests three important phases in the business relationship that are crucial for customer service: First impressions, problem-solving, and collecting feedback.

How do your CSRs handle that first call from a potential client? Have they been coached to identify the clues that a client is leaving so you can customize that customer’s experience? Is your team trained to be problem solvers to handle a client’s challenge in an efficient and impactful way? Do you coach your team to seek feedback so that they not only deal with the immediate situation, but also have a collection of information to maintain a long-term relationship?

Customer service is often overlooked or left to chance. That’s foolish. A business owner needs to create a plan and needs to train their team in the intricacies of quality customer service. If done correctly, it creates customers for life.

P.S. The negligent stupidity referred to above resulted from my letting the hot water run in the shower to flush the drain cleaner I’d poured down that drain earlier in the afternoon. I forgot I’d turned that hot water on, and I had closed the door, so the steam from the hot water had nowhere to escape. Yes, I left it on for a long time.

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