Last weekend Jayne and I decided we’d get pizza for dinner on Saturday night.
This is because last year, while house sitting, we rediscovered the great wood-fired pizza restaurant in the village next to ours. What we would do last year, on a Saturday night, was that we’d head down to the local pub in the village for a couple of beverages, order some pizzas, and then pick them up and take them home.
And although our own home village is only ten minutes away from this village, we always felt that it was just that little too far to go out on a Saturday night…
Anyway, last night we did. Go out. For the pizza.
We got to the pub, ordered our pizzas on the phone, and then enjoyed a little conversation.
When our pizzas were ready [I was given the pick-up time when I called], we headed down to the restaurant.
I was still just a little bit early, so I fixed up the bill for the pizzas, and then stepped back, waiting for those piping hot pizzas to emerge from the wood-fired oven, and be promptly boxed up.
As I stood waiting, the lady who owned the pizza restaurant said to me:
“What have you got planned for tomorrow [Sunday]?”
I replied, after a small thoughtful pause:
“Not much. I think I’m going to find a chair in the sun, out of the wind, and put my feet up for most of the day.”
She smiled back at me, and said:
“Sounds good”
[Actually, I told a half-truth…. I’m sitting in my office, looking out the window at some blue sky above some very tall gum trees, with white clouds being blown across that sky, on a windy winter’s day. And writing blogs and doing some bookwork.
And after an afternoon of stacking and sorting firewood yesterday, I kind of need a “rest day” …]
And so I chose to continue the conversation:
“What about you? What have you guys got planned?”
She replied:
“I’m working in the shop tomorrow [they own a retail store in the village] and when the day’s done, I think I’m going to enjoy a nice big Bloody Mary with Tommy [her husband]”
I smiled back, and said:
“Sounds like a plan.”.
The simple thing about this is:
With four short lines and four smiles, we took the purchase of a pizza from being purely a transactional exchange to being an emotional exchange between two people who actually cared enough to ask and listen, and cared enough to respond with intent rather than blandly. And smile in appreciation.
Because…
Customers of a business who believe that they are being taken for granted, or ignored, will deliberately decide to cease doing business there and take their patronage elsewhere.
It’s important that everyone in your business takes time to connect with each customer each and every time, and to ask, and to listen, and to respond.
It’s really that simple.
Success in business is really about connecting with your customers each and every time you see them.
True connection is so much more important to your customers. In fact you’ll find that in most instances, your customers will value connection more than they care about price or quality…
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Dr. David Moffet BDS FPFA CSP is a certified CX Experience coach. David works with his wife Jayne Bandy to help SME businesses improve their Customer Service Systems to create memorable World Class experiences for their valued clients and customers. Click here to find out how David and Jayne can help your business