Suppose you run an online store which sells a mix of stuff from electronic items, toys, jewelry items, cloths, and different types of house hold items. You have been up on the web about a year now, and have generated a lot of followers on social media. You have made a quite a name for your business with your promotions and now you have expanded the business in terms of human resources. Most of these people are client care managers, who respond to different queries, either chatting or phone calls. Most of the calls are for the product enquiries, sometimes delivery issues and other times complaints.

One day, your support executive received a call from the most unexpected customer, a 6 years old boy who can read your number on the delivered package and dialed that number on his dad’s mobile phone.

He told your customer executive that the “Hot Wheelz” car set he ordered came with a different car as seen in the picture of the packing, and he would like to have that one.

Now, the situation is seemingly simple, the customer executive would tell the child to that this is a packaging mistake, and if they will make sure that this would not happen in his next order – sorry – take care – bye!

But, this one representative does something out of the ordinary. He asked the child which car was missing, and after getting the right description, he went to a toy shop, buy that toy car, and send the boy to that one. He accompanied a letter to the child;

“Dear Valued Customer,

I am so sorry that you cannot race your cars because one of your cars was missing. So I am now sending you the right one. Play and enjoy

Also, I am attaching a 500/- gift coupon with this letter, which your parents can tell you how to use on our website. Do shop with us and have a great time!

Thank you and love
A customer care executive”

What we learned from this story?

We learn that the customer can extend themselves to us with something which is not the usual sort of complaints. We also learned that beside the procedural way of handling things, which works fine and carries not harm, there are also ways which can actually retain customer with much more strengthened relationships. We also learn that a ‘Delighting the customer’ is in our hands, and the delight comes after the sale not before it.

Customers’ going beyond your delivered service and product means that they are not complaining, they are actually reaching out. They are an opportunity not a critic with a problem. All you need to know is how to handle that situation and convert them into retaining that customer for whole of their lives.

So what we need to do?

Be smart, but do it proactively:

We need to know where the ball rolls with our products. For example, we created a simple website with an extension to the mobile device, which manages the team locations and the orders they are closing. Once you know how that application works and who its users are, you would know what kind of complaints can generate from that application, and how you would cater for it.

You should know your customers, in real!

How does one do that? How can we know who our customers are? What they want? What they don’t want? This is something which gives companies the edge to move ahead. One way is to go all technical about it, use analytical tools, data hypothesis and surveys. The other one is talk to them directly. Arrange a gathering or go to a one. Project yourself, let them talk to you, about your products, about how they feel – things which make them come close to your context and domain. Once you get this idea, the other work becomes simple. That is to take them in on the basis of their own feedbacks. Provide them what they want.

Show some Gratitude

Two things where you interact with your customer, one is when they call you on the phone, and the other when they meet you personally. In either case, you need to show them the exclusiveness of gratitude. “Sir while you are waiting for your query, would you like to have some coffee or tea?” or if they are on the phone, go out of the box, and do not play that pre recorded music, talk to them, “I see you are a Banking Professional, so are you finance graduate? This question does not offend, it opens up a conversation. It provides exclusivity and closure.

What come later, matters!

Do you think sending a gift card matters? No, it does not, but it makes the customer walk into your store or visit your website once more. What matters is the message that showed care and concern. The car which the representative sent carries that weight. Each time the child plays with it, knows that this was the special one. We do the things in short terms. We see the fire and we try to put that off. We need to see why that fire occurred and what would happen if it occurs again.

The word “Delight” seems very delicate and soft, whereas in reality it is not. It requires a wholesome effort to retain, maintain and keep the customer happy and coming for more. With technology as a helper, the things are easier on the big data analysis and statistical side, but the human approach to this science is more delicate and though provoking activity.