When it’s good, it can be really good.

The most rewarding customer interaction I’ve had was a week ago. I’ve been reaching out to new Simplifythis users personally (either by phone or through sincere e-mails). Usually I don’t receive a response, but one customer was thoughtful enough to give feedback.

The Simplifythis user told me about a usability issue he had with the software, specifically regarding dates on invoices. I told our developer, Sanjay. Within a couple minutes I was able to get back to the user and tell him we were going to be releasing a new version in the coming weeks, with that issue fixed.

And when it’s bad…

I just had a funny experience where I was the customer for an SAP training center. After months of calling and e-mailing with no response, I found I was mysteriously placed in an online training class. No credit card, no name, no information shared. How could this be?

I figured they’d catch their error and someone would finally get in touch with me. They did, and it wasn’t pretty:

…Our coordinator tried reaching you hell out of times on Mon and Tues and finally gave up as it just goes to your voice massage…

My eyes immediately went to the “hell.” I’m more thickheaded than most, so I didn’t take it personally and sent an e-mail with an explanation of what had happened. I wonder if he/she was frustrated, as this sentence alone has improper grammar and a spelling mistake. If the company had poised itself as a training facility with a certain candor to its messages, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

The lesson I learned is that your reaction determines where a conversation or transaction is headed. Because I’ve been on both sides of the customer service “counter,” I kept my cool.  Unfortunately, this customer service rep didn’t.

 What’s your favorite customer-centric story with a positive outcome (i.e. you helped the customer successfully, or learned something from the experience)? Let us know!

$150.

That’s about how much my little sister collected in two hours from the neighborhood for her school band’s fundraiser. But this isn’t anything new. School fundraisers are about as American as apple pie…the very apple pies that schools sell at their fundraisers! In my band nerd days I sold such questionable items as:

• Engraved pens
• Cookie jars that doubled as piggy banks
• Wrapping paper
• Lollipops.

But my sister’s band sold something completely different. To find out what it was, tune in next time to our 41-part series on “1,438 Ways to Sell.”

(Just kidding)

My sister’s band sold: nothing. They went door-to-door with a manilla envelope asking for money to support the band that would march at a football game the neighbors may never even see. They didn’t provide a service, a good, or anything else business class says is necessary for a transaction to occur. And yet, a group of four high schoolers earned almost $75 an hour (in a recession!).

How? They made the neighbors feel good. Who wouldn’t feel nice giving five bucks to a sweet, adorable band nerd? Most of our businesses offer services and goods - a lot more than nothing. And it could be even more if we made our customers feel good.

So, how do you make your customers feel good?

We’re about to roll out a new level of retention efforts - specifically for our free trial customers. That means we’re letting people know we are here:

• For support, questions, comments, concerns, training, tips, conversations and anything to make your stay with Simplifythis a pleasant experience
  (so you can come back for more…)
• To learn from you so we can make Simplifythis better for future generations

If you are extending a free trial with your business, you might as well do a good job of welcoming your customers. Anyone can satisfy the first bullet’s requirements with a few helpful e-mails and a blog post. It’s the business-practice equivalent of, say, having a Web site. That’s the base-line that any growing smbiz should meet.

Institutionalizing the second bullet point is tough but if done, can show you where you need to focus to meet your customers’ expectations. If I sign-up for a free trial of a computer program I’ve never used, I expect to have my hand held at the beginning and (depending on the program) I expect to be able to let go after some time. Two basic requirements that the business many opportunities to help their customers.

Know what your customer will expect. Then use that knowledge to make something awesome (a la Bobby McFerrin, who took the expectations of his “customers” and…well, see for yourself).