“Thou Shalt Anticipate” is commandment number six found in Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service.
Anticipation requires some measure of assumption, which is a risky proposition according to the old saying, “when you assume, you make an…”—well, you know the rest. But being prepared is worth the risk of being a you-know-what, as it can save you a lot of grief.
“Don’t just respond and react to what customers want,” Hyken says, adding, “A simple example is a server in a restaurant who is always there with a pitcher of water before you drink your last sip.” He goes on to characterize this concept as “proactive customer service”.
This kind of proactivity requires your employees to be thoughtful, to project themselves into the shoes of your customers. “What would I want if I were sitting there?” This is why we make sure drinks are refilled, or why we check in on diners to make sure their orders came out to their liking, and so on. If we were in a diner’s position, we’d want that attention—after all, we’re paying for it.
Most importantly, proactive care ensures that a concern never morphs into a problem. While keeping customers happy has a lot to do with getting things right, it really has a lot more to do with fixing things that go wrong. Every business owner knows full well that something will always go wrong, too. Murphy’s got a Law on that.
The importance of anticipation extends beyond dining. Retail and sales professionals need to know the potential advantages and drawbacks of the products they sell, to match their customers with the right purchases, or at least to give them the right information. Perhaps the hot tubs you sell require more attention be placed on pH balancing due your climate—that would be important for the buyer to know so he doesn’t end up with a spa full of algae. These considerations will crop up everywhere, from the fuel economy of a high-performance car to the water-resistance of a wood stain.
Not only is this “proactive” customer service, it’s also “preventative”.
Learning how to anticipate a potential concern, or having the mindset to place yourself in someone else’s shoes takes a lot of work and training to hone. Let The Brandt Group help you measure and coach your staff to have the kind of thoughtfulness you need to prevent those concerns from growing into problems—saving you time and money, and—more importantly—increasing your retention and profitability. Learn more today!
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