Its how you make a person feel…..

I have been going back and forth with some colleagues for over two years now about what differentiates a person, a brand…what makes someone stand out from the rest. Is it really their work product or is it something else? What is the special sauce? I recently had an experience that, coupled with the examination of other successful makers and brands, made me come to the conclusion that I have figured out the answer to this question - It is how you make someone feel. 

It was July 5th, and for all intents and purposes, one of the busiest days the bike shop has all year. My daughter had a new bike and a bolt had come loose. She was devastated. We ventured to the bike shop in hopes that it would be a quick fix. Upon our arrival she was eager to tell the man at the door what had happened and looked at him with her big blue eyes hoping that he would wave his magic wand and solve her problem - her problem, which as that time was the the worst thing that could happen to her on the 3rd day of vacation when riding your brand new bike is everything. Instead of waving his magic wand, he waved his hand in dismissal, “This can't be fixed, this needs parts I won’t be able to get for months, and we aren’t fixing anything but our own bikes now. We have bikes for rent. You can rent one of ours,” And with that he turned away. I might have actually been more devastated than her, but I did an about face eager to teach her a lesson and off we went to the next bike shop where the guy fixed it in 30 mins. I hugged him and vowed to be a loyal customer to them forever more. 

The first bike shop was one I had been loyal to for at least 10 years. That ended on July 5th. They made me and my daughter feel awful. They didn't make us feel heard. And worst of all, it felt like he was lying in order to make a sale. 

I realized this is such a key business lesson. Fixing it or not, treating us well would have gone the distance and solidified my loyalty. So, in conclusion, even if you, your product or service are not the very best in the entire world, if you treat your customer as the very best, then in fact your product WILL be the very best in the entire world. And on top of that, you will be giving someone the gift of being heard which is the number one human desire.