In the spring of 1980, two years after graduating from MSU, my wife Penny and I were fortunate enough to buy an acre and a half of land. We quickly started building our dream home south of Bozeman near Hyalite Creek. Our home was completed by the end of July. Cashman Nursery developed the landscape design and we got busy planting grass, trees and shrubs.
It seemed like we were watering all day ever day, because we could not afford a sprinkler system. The grass grew and grew and I only had a push mower to cut the entire acre and a half. After three years of endless mower pushing, we decided to purchase a riding mower. Penny and I shopped every store in town looking for the right mower and then a friend suggested that we go see Gallatin Equipment and look at a John Deere Riding Mower. So we did. We went into sticker shock! Their mowers were twice the price of other store brands.
After much debate and consternation, we decided to go ahead and purchase a John Deere, hoping it would hold up as advertised. We have had that mower now for 26 years and only doing minor routine maintenance over the years. I am sad to report that last weekend the transmission failed while Darcie, our youngest daughter, was out cutting the grass. The mower would run in reverse, but not in any of the five forward gears. Darcie was not humored when I said, “just cut the lawn in reverse.”
Being mechanically inclined, I decided to investigate the possibility of overhauling the transmission myself. I searched the web and found a YouTube video on how to repair the transmission. I disassembled the transmission as instructed and found a broken gear. I packed up the disassembled transmission and headed to Belgrade Equipment, the new John Deere dealer. As I entered through the front door, I was immediately greeted with a big smile and asked, “How can we help you?” I asked for the parts department and directed to Jerry. I placed my transmission and box of parts on the counter and started to explain my situation. Jerry brought up a parts diagram on his computer and located my part in 30 seconds. I started to quiz Jerry on the repair process seeking advice. As we were discussing the repair solution, Jerry asked a service technician, his opinion. Both of them took the time to help me feel comfortable completing the repair myself.
Jerry had some of the parts and supplies on hand and we had to order the rest. I asked for the remaining parts to be sent FedEx next day, because I wanted to get the mower repaired ASAP. Jerry completed the order and told me he would call me the following day when the parts arrived. I asked about payment next, Jerry said I could take the parts and supplies now and pay for everything the following day. I was shocked and WOWED to say the least. It has always been my experience to never leave a store with merchandise much less special order parts without paying for everything upfront.
Last month my column centered on Building Trust with customers and it is obvious Jerry places huge trust his customers. As a result of his trusting customers I am positive customers come to trust Jerry and want to do business with him.
The next day, my cell phone rang about 10:00 AM. It was Jerry calling me to let me know my parts had arrived. I was WOWED again, because it has been my experience that businesses often don’t call when they say they are going to. I usually have to call them to see if an order has arrived. As I entered the store, I again was greeted with a big smile that made me feel welcome. I headed to the parts department where Jerry greeted me by name, impressive! I felt valued as a customer. He had all my parts packaged up and asked if I need anything else. I paid for my parts and Jerry smiled and said, “have a great day”.
What is admiral about Jerry’s customer service skills is that he has never met me before and has no knowledge of the line of work I am in or that I write this column monthly. It is my guess that Jerry provides this level of service to each of his customers and for that I applaud him.
Consumers, now more than ever, are concerned about the money they spend on their purchases. Businesses that perform Customer Service like Belgrade Equipment will not have a problem. They are earning customers for life. Building a business of satisfied customers can not be created on a foundation of price alone. The definable difference for gaining long-term financial success needs to be centered on the employees that operate the business. My challenge for business owners and managers is, ask your staff how are they are WOWING customers and what are they doing to build trust so that the business develops CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE.
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