I’ve been involved in some level of customer service, including leading customer service teams, for most of my career. I’ve read numerous books, dozens of articles, and listened to some well-respected speakers on the subject. I’m not an expert in any way, but I tend to think that I know a thing or two about generating customer loyalty.
Perhaps the greatest lesson I’ve had on this subject came just the other day, and it came from a rather unlikely source. I was checking-in with one of our drivers, who has been assigned to one of our dedicated accounts. I called to simply ask him how things were going, and he blew my mind with his response. Here’s how our conversation went (no joke):
Me: How’s it been going over there lately?
Driver: It’s been very busy, and the customer has high expectations.
Me: Yeah, I know they expect a lot, and I’ve heard that you are doing a good job for them. How busy have you been?
Driver: Well, I completed the most moves ever in one day. I did nearly 150 moves in one day. It was their peak season, and they relied on me to get it done.
Me: Wait, what!? How is that even possible?
Driver: You’ve got to work really hard to be able to do that safely, and I did it. I exceeded their expectations, which was my goal.
Me: That’s impressive.
Driver: Not only that, but I occasionally buy donuts for their team as a way to help build rapport.
Me: Seriously? I’ve never seen a reimbursement request from you for donuts.
Driver: I’m up to 8-10 dozen donuts by now, and I don’t want to be reimbursed. I’m doing it because I want to help build customer loyalty. They really like the donuts, Blake. Hopefully, they will want to renew the contract.
Me: (Mind blown)
That is 100% how the conversation went. This particular driver is giving 110% effort and buying donuts for our customer with his own resources. There’s no doubt that this formula is working! Maybe this is the moral of the story: You create customer loyalty by delivering exceptional service and donuts.