Three Words We Should Never Say

“It was nothing.”  The three words we should never say.

This week I was working through a customer experience where I was on the customer end.  Oddly enough, I had a snake in my house. You mean on your property in the yard. NO. I mean in my kitchen. Imagine, coming downstairs for some breakfast, you turn the corner with visions of your favorite AM fare, and out from the oven is a four foot reptilian house guest. Now imagine working diligently in your office and hearing a scream from downstairs followed up with SNAKE! When I arrived on the scene, the snake had retreated under the stove.  What do I do?  Who should I call?  Samuel L. Jackson?

I called our city’s animal control, they came out to the house and left within three minutes since they weren’t allowed to remove it unless the snake was out in the open.  My tax dollars at work. Anyway, I had to call a professional service. I spoke with a gentleman named David (I like him already). He told me to “catch a snake, we have to think like a snake.” I knew this was going to be good.  He showed up and took care of the problem  like a pro.  He told some great stories of his adventures and I could tell he took pride in his work. When he left I knew he had given me his best. I like that. If I ever have a need for his services again, I know he will show up with his A game.

This was refreshing. How many times do we get a “It was nothing” when involved with a customer service interaction?  Does that sound like the person is giving you their best or just enough to get by? The fact is, it may be nothing to them but it is everything to the customer at that moment.  I have been guilty of this in the past. I might say something like “no problem” or “it’s no big deal.” That is wrong. It is a big deal to them. Don’t be afraid to let people know that you gave them your all. Don’t be a whiner or martyr and don’t waste their time going through all of the details but let them know it took effort. People love that. This is marketing. This is customer service.

Let’s rethink how we interact with prospects and customers. Are we putting the best into our blog content and social media conversations? Are we bringing our A game to every area our business?

Your thoughts?