Delighting your customers – It’s the small things that matter…

So here’s a wee story that demonstrates that you don’t have to go the extra mile – a few inches will do! The torrential rain was unremitting as I arrived at the door of the branch I was visiting – one of 200 in my bailiwick. It was 8.45am and there was a group of customers waiting for the bank to open at 9am. They were drenched! The manager came to the door to let me in and greeted me warmly. I was a bit uncomfortable as I thought of our customers in that rain. But without any prompting the manager invited everyone in. So there we were a crowd of us in the banking hall and the manager announced she wanted to bring them in out of the rain so they would be comfortable until the tills opened at 9. It was just a small thing but it had a big impact. Her team helped customers get comfortable and you could feel the rapport and hear the humour. There was a great atmosphere.\r\n\r\nSo there are learnings from this simple action:

1. THE MANAGER CARED ABOUT HER CUSTOMERS It’s a great place to be. You know if the manager cares then others will care. I knew that day even from such a small thing that the leadership would be strong. Leaders who have a passion for their customers are a real asset to your business.

2. EMPOWERED TO DO THE RIGHT THING\r\nI am not so deluded that I think opening the doors is some huge empowerment but the confidence to do what is best whilst having the judgement to keep the right balance is key.

3. TEAMS THAT HAVE FUN TEND TO LOOK AFTER THEIR CUSTOMERS I have always liked the old adage ‘happy staff + happy customers = happy shareholders’. A happy engaged team with good leadership is all one has to ask for. So the next question is what do you do when you have managers that don’t exhibit the energy and passion for customers? Because all the above is what you should expect.