Your customers are not the enemy
n my ongoing
analysis of how some cleaners are increasing their sales in a
down market, I was reminded of the SmartMoney article (February
2003 “Ten Things Your Drycleaner Won’t Tell
You” by Daisy Chan) that lambasted the industry. The
article is a shameful exaggeration of gaffes committed by a
handful of operators out of more than 30,000 drycleaners in
this country.
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As twisted as this article was, one
statement did get my attention. The article quoted a BBB
official: “It’s not the initial problem but the
lack of follow-through to solve the problem that spurs people
to file complaints.”
Does this sound familiar? When problems
arise, the best policy — in fact the only policy
— is to resolve them as fast as possible. This policy has
allowed many drycleaners to increase their sales volume in this
down market. Furthermore, it has provided these cleaners the
opportunity to be the price leaders in their markets.
While working with a client in Virginia
last month, I witnessed this policy of “immediate
customer problem resolution” first hand. It was late on
Wednesday afternoon when a customer came in to pick up her
clothes. There were three CSRs working that afternoon and the
CSR waiting on the customer was a fairly new hire.
When the customer looked at her clothes
she said to the CSR, “I don’t think those are my
slacks. My slacks had a beige stripe not a green
stripe.”
The CSR called the owner over and
explained the situation to him. By now, the customer looked
upset. The owner immediately removed the slacks from the poly
and started talking to the customer.
Owner: “Have you had these slacks
cleaned here before?”
Customer: “No, this is the first
time I had them cleaned and I need them for a family reunion
this weekend.”
Owner: “Oh, this is the first time
you’ve had them cleaned?”
Customer: “Yes, and they’re
part of an outfit that I want to wear. You know, everything
coordinated?”
The owner was looking at the slacks,
reading the care label and still talking.
Owner: “Did you buy them
locally?”
Customer: “Yes, I bought them at
(she named some local retailer)”.
Owner: “We have this happen from
time to time and usually it’s caused by the type of dye
the manufacturer uses. Which one of the (local) stores did you
buy them at?
Customer: “The one on Main
Street.”
Owner: “The reason I’m asking
all these questions is that we have a good working relationship
with the retailers and manufacturers. If these slacks need to
be returned, we will take care of that for you. Do you remember
what you paid for them?”
Customer: “About $45.”
Owner: “What I’m going to do
is rerun these slacks in a special bath first thing tomorrow
morning. I might be able to restore the color. Do we have your
daytime phone number?” (He takes the phone number.)
“We will call you before noon
tomorrow and let you know how they come out. If we can’t
restore them, I will give you a check for $45. If that
doesn’t give you enough time to replace the slacks for
the weekend and you think you can wear them — take them
home, wear them and bring them back next week and I’ll
give you a check for $45.”
The owner then told the CSR to delete the
charge for cleaning the slacks and told the customer he would
talk to her the next day. The customer looked relieved and
thanked him.
The $64,000 question
After the customer left, I asked the owner
if he knew her and he said no. Next, I asked if she was a good
customer and he told me he did not know. My next question
— the $64,000 question — What would have happened
to this customer if he hadn’t been there?
His answer, “The other two CSRs
would have handled it the same way. If it’s a customer
issue that can be settled for less than $100, they can take
care of it.”
This cleaner’s action speaks volumes
about his attitude toward his customers. He does not see his
customers as people who are trying to get something for
nothing. He views his customers as the people who pay his
bills. His customers are not “the enemy.”
Many drycleaners have convinced themselves
and their employees that paying claims is the expressway to the
poor house! Typically, claims should run one half of one
percent of total sales. This means that for a cleaner doing
$200,000 a year claims should be about $1,000 per year. For one
doing a million dollars in sales, claims should run $5,000 a
year.
My client in Virginia is doing over a
million dollars a year with one location — no routes.
This client has increased his piece volume during the first
three months of 2003 over the same period last year.
His piece volume is up five percent and
his dollar volume is up more than eight percent. His dollar
volume increase is higher than his piece volume increase
because of a three percent price increase in January 2003.
For the record, this cleaner’s
claims are running close to one percent of sales which is
almost double that of the industry standard.
What a trade off! He increased his cost of
claims from one half of one percent to almost one percent of
sales and increased his dollar volume by eight percent.
Right now, someone, somewhere is reading
this and saying, “Robson said all I have to do is
increase the amount of money I pay to my customers for claims
and my sales will go up eight percent.”
Not! Paying claims won’t increase
your sales, but changing your attitude toward your customers
and their concerns will increase your sales.
Attitudes are like the common cold —
very contagious. Employees adopt the owners’ attitude
through association. Thus, your attitude, positive or negative,
will become the organization’s attitude. The leadership
tool that has the biggest long-term impact on employees is
“management by example.”
Positive attitudes must be developed and
nurtured. When you make a conscious effort to improve your
attitude, your employees will follow. In business, as in life,
attitude can make the difference between success and failure.
In the game of business the more you know
the better you can play the game.
Alan Robson is a private consultant
dealing with the specialized needs of the drycleaning industry.
Contact him by telephone at (941) 408-8819 or send e-mail to
him at: alan@bizbuilderonline.com or visit the Biz Builder web site: www.bizbuilderonline.com.
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