Last week we received a hand written letter at home, posted from China. it was addressed to my husband, but I opened it anyway because I was curious to see what it was. Well I was quite surprised to discover a beautiful letter-pressed card from Dunhill, with a hand-written message on it.
The note said: "Dear Mark, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your recent purchase at Alfred Dunhill. I am so proud to be at your service, and I hope that you have had an unforgettable shopping experience. I look forward to seeing you in the near future. Best regards, Eric C."
And it was sent with the business card of the same sales person. Quite a dedicated staff, don't you think? How many businesses do you know will take the time to write to their customers just to say thank you?
This is Dunhill you will argue. People spend thousands of dollars with them, so yes they can afford this kind of customer service. Well, let me tell you I've seen other luxury brands treat their customers like dirt, so that's not a good argument.
And to validate my point even more, I'll also give the example of a very small company who really impressed me a few months ago with their customer mindset. This company sells nothing glamorous, in fact they retail magnets and other types of magnetic products. But they have a great sense of customer service.
I ordered a magnetic band from them, something to stick on our wall and on which we could add magnets, to use as a decoration. The order was approximately 30$, and I didn't have to prepay it when ordering online. I received the goods after only 3 or 4 days, my first surprise. But then when I opened the box, I got a whole lot of surprises.
On top of the product I ordered, I received a few samples of very strong magnets, and a little bag of teddy bear sweets. Nice one. But then there was this cute card with a photo of the team, holding a sign saying "thank you". They all boast a huge smile, so I figure they're pretty happy to work there. And the last bonus was a voucher to receive 10% on my future order.
All that for a 30$ order which I still hadn't paid (in Switzerland you hardly ever pay anything before hand). Talk about customer dedication! I kept talking about the content of the box, and the company, to whoever came into my office that day.
So the lesson is: if you care for your business, never misjudge the importance of customer service, whether you are in luxury, food, or any type of business.
Question: Do you have a story of great customer service?
The note said: "Dear Mark, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your recent purchase at Alfred Dunhill. I am so proud to be at your service, and I hope that you have had an unforgettable shopping experience. I look forward to seeing you in the near future. Best regards, Eric C."
And it was sent with the business card of the same sales person. Quite a dedicated staff, don't you think? How many businesses do you know will take the time to write to their customers just to say thank you?
This is Dunhill you will argue. People spend thousands of dollars with them, so yes they can afford this kind of customer service. Well, let me tell you I've seen other luxury brands treat their customers like dirt, so that's not a good argument.
And to validate my point even more, I'll also give the example of a very small company who really impressed me a few months ago with their customer mindset. This company sells nothing glamorous, in fact they retail magnets and other types of magnetic products. But they have a great sense of customer service.
I ordered a magnetic band from them, something to stick on our wall and on which we could add magnets, to use as a decoration. The order was approximately 30$, and I didn't have to prepay it when ordering online. I received the goods after only 3 or 4 days, my first surprise. But then when I opened the box, I got a whole lot of surprises.
On top of the product I ordered, I received a few samples of very strong magnets, and a little bag of teddy bear sweets. Nice one. But then there was this cute card with a photo of the team, holding a sign saying "thank you". They all boast a huge smile, so I figure they're pretty happy to work there. And the last bonus was a voucher to receive 10% on my future order.
All that for a 30$ order which I still hadn't paid (in Switzerland you hardly ever pay anything before hand). Talk about customer dedication! I kept talking about the content of the box, and the company, to whoever came into my office that day.
So the lesson is: if you care for your business, never misjudge the importance of customer service, whether you are in luxury, food, or any type of business.
Question: Do you have a story of great customer service?
nice one, Christelle ! I especially like the teddy bear sweats ;-) Referral Marketing is definitely the number 1 marketing method, right? Which reminds me that I still have your book ;-)! We'll have to meet again for a cup of coffee one of these days ...
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