Sigh of Relief

Teaching how, the “extra mile”

Corey, a plumber for a company that provides full-service design and construction services based in Salem, OR told Session 9B of the Leadership Development Lab:

“A few weeks ago, I was at a customer’s house installing a Toto, the ‘Cadillac,’ a of bidets on my customer’s toilet. After the install was complete, the customer asked for the manual so she could figure out how to use it. The manual is a half an inch thick and can be super confusing.

“While I could’ve just handed the manual and remote control to her and walked away, I decided to take a few minutes to show her following the 3-Step training approach I learned in Turbo’s leadership class. First, I went over what each button on the remote does while pointing it at the bidet. Next, I handed the remote to her and explained each button while she pointed it at the bidet. Finally, I asked her to tell me what each button does as she operated the bidet with her remote.

“When we were finished, she breathed a sigh of relief and thanked me for taking the extra time to thoroughly teach her how to operate her new bidet.

As I drove down the driveway, I felt like a success because I knew I had left a highly satisfied customer. She felt I had gone above and beyond the call of duty by taking a few extra moments to train her on how to get the most satisfaction from her new purchase.

“The lesson I learned from this experience is when I slow down and use the 3-Step training process to teach my customers how their new purchase works, they are highly satisfied and can breathe a sigh of relief.

“The action I call you to take is slow down and take the time to thoroughly teach your associates, customers and members of your family how to do the things they ask for your help with.

“The benefit you will gain is better trained employees, more successful family members, and happier customers .”

This important story points out a great way to go the extra mile for your customer. There is never a traffic jam in the extra mile lane. When your customers feel you are going the extra mile, they will be repeat customers. In fact, they will be your client and will refer their friends and family to you. What are you doing to provide extra mile service to ensure repeat business?