Fresh off the shelf from the Customer Service Library in our San Diego office, I’ve had the pleasure to start reading “I Love You More Than My Dog” by Jeanne Bliss (@JeanneBliss).
While I haven’t completed reading the entire book, I did want to begin a discussion for each of the “The Five Decisions Made by Beloved Companies” that set you apart from the competition. I’ll break it down and do them one by one staring with TRUST in this post today.
Decision 1: Beloved Companies Decide to Believe
Jeanne states, “By deciding to trust customers, they are freed from extra rules, policies, and layers of bureaucracy that create a barrier between them and their customers.”
My question to you:
Do YOU trust YOUR customers?
This is challenging because while we can believe in our customers, there is always that small percentage that will not tell the truth and could possibly cause serious repercussions for a company. Then, we’re faced with problems and our trust levels are lowered.
As a company, if our trust levels are lowered, what does this say to the rest of our customers who are honest? Their trust in the company is also lowered.
Trust must come from both sides, as in any relationship. It must be reciprocated.
In Connecticut, Zane’s Cycles (@zanescycles) allows people to test drive their bicycles, some upwards of value into thousands of dollars, without any paperwork or ID shown. They can simply ride right out of the store.
Zane’s trusts and has full confidence in their customers–and they want their customers to know this outright and to trust their company in return. And, with selling over 4,000 bikes per year, about 5 are stolen.
Jeanne writes, “For Zane’s, it’s just not worth having the whole attitude of the company change because of the attitudes of 5 dishonest people. Zane’s believes customers are good.“
Do you have a “policy” or “rule” at your company that was created from a situation in which trust was broken? If so, how can you change that to reflect trust for your customer and bring belief in them back on the table?
And remember, this doesn’t just go toward external customers but also coworkers, your internal customers. Do you trust your team enough to know they’ll handle the situation in the best way possible? If not, how can you instill trust in yourself and them?
As always, I’d really love your feedback on this. I trust you’ll share valuable advice with me. I believe in YOU!
