Service Biz Coach

I have had some interesting customer service experiences lately and wanted to share my perspectives from the consumer point of view.

We are remodeling the powder room in our house.  The past few days we have been shopping for a vanity light.  The purchase of this light has held up the whole project.  We need to know the finish and size of the light before we can purchase a faucet, towel bars, mirror etc.   So apparently a big decision.  We went to the big boxes first.  Home Depot, Lowes and Menards.   Nothing really jumped out at us and we were never asked if needed help or offered any assistance at all.  Most of the lights were on and all the heat and light was really distracting.  NO PURCHASE

Our next stop a few days later was a at a local light store.  Tons of lights, many choices, good prices.  Still little assistance.  We even asked a few questions which were kinda answered, but from a distance, if you know what I mean.  NO PURCHASE

Last night we went to another local lighting only store.  We were warmly greeted at the door and asked if we were looking for something specific.  We told Amy that we were looking for vanity lights and she showed us where the lights were located, then showed us how the displays were configured so we could turn on any set of lights to see how they look illuminated.  The other stores did not offer this!  Then she said she  would check back with us after we had a chance to look around.

So we started looking, good selection, nice to be able to see the lights when on and off!  Prices were so/so, but ok.  We still didn’t know what we wanted.  Amy came back and asked if we needed some help.  (Probably saw the deer in the headlight look on our faces.)  We told her we were looking for a vanity light for a powder room.

Then the magic started! She asked what kind of finish was on the other fixtures.  We explained that this was for a remodel and the light was the deciding factor.  She continue to ask about colors, styles and sizes of the vanity, sink top etc.  So, with Amys help we decided on a finish and appropriate size and style and instantly narrowed our choices down to two lights.  Then it was a simple matter of picking one.  We choice a light and Amy said she would see if they had that size and finish in stock.  They did, and we purchased it.  Oh and some bulbs too!

What Amy did was all customer service.  Seizing an opportunity to help a customer by utilizing her experience, she help us with a difficult decision which we knew little about.  She asked the right questions.  She told us about the typical sizes of lights compared to the Vanity and Mirror sizes.  We had no clue what the proportions of all these things should be.   She gave us great advice without talking down to us.  She was confident, knew her stuff and it showed.

She made a sale and  gained a good customer for life.  We need to change a lot of outdated light fixtures in the house we just moved into a few months ago.  This one incident will likely result in the sale of several more fixtures not to mention the referrals she is likely to get from us as customers, and me as a home inspector!  This one Golden Moment in customer service is likely to generate a lot of revenue for this company.

If you live in the Twin Cities area and need light fixtures send me a note and I will tell you who to see!

Seize your Golden Moments and become the service business of choice in your community.

Care to share some your experiences?