Understanding overall customer satisfaction is a bit more complicated than assuming everything went fine simply because they didn't complain. In fact for each customer who called and complained, there are twenty-six more who say nothing,(Based on study performed by the University of North Dakota) they just disappear and you never hear from them again. Ever have a problem in a restaurant and when asked how everything went you say, fine, just because it is not worth the hassle to say anything? During the drive on the way home you actually discuss whether you will ever go back there again. Yet the people in the restaurant are oblivious to your dissatisfaction.
As illustrated in the "Customer Satisfaction Pyramid" the lowest level of satisfaction, or as I call, meeting the basic objectives; Trust, Reliability and Value is considered a given. In fact, these are the key elements as to why someone makes a selection as to who to even consider before doing business with them. Customers expect at least this. On level two, Timeliness, Knowledgeable and Responsible, the customer wants something he or she obviously expects once the experience has begun. At this point, a company has met the minimum requirements . . . fair price, trust, reliability, you know what you are talking about, you don't waste their time and show up when promised and take responsibility should something go wrong. These are logical demands.

Want a customer for life? Get to their emotions. Level three . . . Caring, Concerned and Helpful. These are not just words, this is where your customer sincerely believes, based on your words and actions that you do indeed really care!
Let's take a look at the top of the pyramid. Fun, Friendly, Enjoyable or Entertaining. This doesn't mean you bring in a group of entertainers when you do business. What I am talking about is something so rare and unusual that the customer is so overwhelmed that they can't wait to tell someone else about the great experience they had. Whether you are a plumber, electrician, HVAC technician, roofer or handyman, your services, communication, appearance and interaction is not just compared to others in your field, but to every interactive experience that person has experienced in their entire life! So, don't focus on just meeting their basic needs, focus on being the best by overwhelming them.
Want to know more? I'll be posting more detail on this blog in days to come.

Back From Tampa

Had a great trip to Tampa, Florida. Met some of the best of the best HVAC contractors in the country. If you want to do better, the place to get the information you need is at the ACCA national conventions. The next one will be in San Antonio, Texas next spring. Got to ACCA.org for more info.

I also presented a workshop in Tampa titled "20 Methods To Turn Satisfied Customers into Hard Core Raving Fans" It went great. In fact, I had a standing room only crowd and many of the attendees stopped me later to tell me how much they loved my presentation.

So what are you waiting for? If you haven't signes up for a workshop, there is no better time than right now!

Check Me Out in the Contractor Excellence Magazine

How about that! Two articles in one month about me! Lucky Me!
A few weeks ago I picked up the HVAC Insider and there I was. Now I'm in the ACCA Contractor Excellence Magazine. By the way, I will be speaking at the ACCA National Convention in Tampa. I'll also have a booth (#433) so if you plan on going, come say hi! I am speaking immediatley following the opening ceremonies.
Here is a link to the Contractor Excellence article:http://www.acca.org/magazine/archives/winter10/

Long Time No Post

My last blog post was January 2nd. . . Quite a while ago. . . U pdate:

My neck, arm and shoulder pain has diminished greatly, it is tolerable and I believe I can get by without surgery as long as it continues as it is right now. A few things have happened since my last blog. Here they are:

1. Business has picked up dramatically (Yippee)

2. Customer Care Plus is taking off and doing well!

3. My son Rocco completed the police academy and is now a police officer in the City of Shepherdsville, KY. His picture is in this post. I am very proud.

4. My step son Gavin is kicking butt playing basketball. He is like LeBron James!

5. I am well on my way to a painfree and painkiller free life! Thank you God!

6. I continue to have some of the best customers and clients in the world! Thanks everyone, I really do love my customers!

I hope my wonderful life continues to improve!

2010 - Planning for the Best

Now that we are entering a new year, we are all probably hoping for an improved economy and also improved financial or business status. Believe me, so am I. 2009 started out as what I thought and hoped was going to be the best year ever. At least it seemed that way for the first three to four months. By the time we hit the half-way point at the end of June, I quickly realized that my hopes were not going to be a reality. Along with the economy plus several other factors, the best year ever turned out to be one of the worst years ever.

So, we can sit around and hope for the best and pray that others in the world will make the right decisions for us and make things better . . . or . . . actually make plans to avoid the problems, pitfalls and issues that caused the challenges we faced in 2009 by deciding to take control of our own destiny and do what is necessary to make things go the way we want. Jack Welch used to regularly say "Control your own destiny, or someone else will". This is absolutely true.

I was scheduled for neck surgery on December 28th. The plan was to remove two discs (between c-5, c-6 and c-7) replace them with bone taken from cadavers and install a titanium plate to hold the whole thing together. I had around a 90% chance of this being successful. The surgery was going to eliminate neck and shoulder pain along with loss of feeling in my right arm and hand. The surgery was orginally scheduled for three weeks prior, then rescheduled for the 28th because I had a chest cold. I decided to cancel. I did not have the surgery for several reasons. One, I started developing an elevated temperature for some unknown reason a few days before surgery. I also kept getting hints from various sources on how I had a possibility of losing my voice, being out of commission for several months, having additional back problems, etc, etc. I prayed about it and woke up the day before the surgery and decided to cancel it. I am going to take another approach and try some alternative methods, yoga, accupuncture, etc. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I am working on a plan for recovery that does not include cutting my neck open and replacing parts.

Getting back to business . . . Want to have a great 2010? Decide today to make the appropriate changes in your life to make things the way you want them. I had a workshop in Lexington a little over a week ago and spent a lot of time discussing various ideas and methods to improve performance and profitability. I concluded the session by telling everyone that everything discussed was nothing they have not already heard before. No life changing events occurred in that room that day, nor did I say anything that was considered a brilliant idea, I just presented information that was already public knowledge, perhaps I just presented it in a way that made people think differently. In one of my previous blogs I posted an email I received from one of the attendees, please take a moment to read it.

The point I'm trying to make is, you already know what to do, you already know how to do it, and who to ask for help. There are probably no fantastic ideas that will come to your rescue nor is their some magical cure to your ills. It's just a matter of deciding to do something and following through. So, decide today what you expect for 2010, and put a plan of action together to make it happen. You know what you need to do, so how about trying to implement for a change.

Happy New Year!