Your Best Customers Do you deserve their business? By Anthony Analetto President - SONNY'S The Car Wash Factory Originally published in AutoLaundry Magazine

What a trip! In only two days I witnessed exemplary customer service where I least expected and watched in amazement as a single store manager for a multinational chain wielded the authority to devastate the trust of 15 customers, who, like me, probably believed to some degree the years of advertising that said the company cared about its patrons.

It made me realize how fragile customer service truly is. It opened my eyes to how subtly good customer service from a competitor can seduce even your most habitual customer. Personally, I like to analyze good and bad customer service experiences that influence my own behavior. For example, our company often uses a local restaurant for business meetings. The food and service are excellent, but recently a colleague made a slight comment about something that did not impress him. Doubts have snowballed. I brought my wife to another restaurant with similar food for our anniversary. The service was stellar. The waiter made us feel like we were part of the family. When the bill came, it was approximately the same as the other restaurant. At that moment I asked myself the fatal question for any service company from a habitual customer, "what are they doing to deserve my business?"

Don't Glorify the Obvious
So what exactly is customer service? What makes it good? Before addressing what customer service is, let's first look at what it's not. Good customer service is not about delivering a clean, dry, shiny car. Believe it or not, a customer who enters your wash expects a clean car. Otherwise, they wouldn't have turned into the driveway. The same goes for promoting that your car wash won't damage their vehicle. Imagine reading a fast food menu with a big sign displaying, 'our food-handling procedures are so careful you'll never get sick eating here!' Don't get me wrong. Promoting your exclusive 12-step wash process, that gently shines and protects today's delicate clear-coat finishes, is dramatically different than saying your high-tech process won't damage a car. The point is, that delivering the product or service on the sign in front of your business, and not harming consumers, does not give your habitual customer a ready answer to the rhetorical question, "what are they doing to deserve my business?" It is merely the price of entry.

So now the struggle begins. What do you do, or can you do, that you are not expected to do, to enhance the ease, quality, or enjoyment of getting a car wash? Better yet, what is your wash's distinct competitive advantage?

Formula for Success
Having good customer service policies, procedures, and practices is only one-third of the opportunity. The second third, making sure your customers know how great your policies are, is arguably even more important. The final evolutionary leap occurs when your customers trust that you will always serve them well because they believe in the integrity of your company. Everything starts with a clear plan and documentation.

Policies
Document the appropriate reply from each staff member on your property to every anticipated interaction with a customer. At a car wash, writing down each scenario and the approved response is particularly important to maintain consistency in an environment of constant turnover. The better your documentation and training, the more likely staff will know how to act appropriately when a situation happens that they are not familiar with. I have had the greatest success when I've had employees role play different scenarios and how to properly respond. This will help them to use common sense to override a written policy that in practice doesn't fit your customer service patterns. For example, at the beginning of this article I mentioned that during a recent trip I witnessed a manager of a multinational chain act rudely to a customer. It was at a crowded fast food restaurant where a mother, trying to balance four toddlers while ordering her children's meals, requested a different toy in each one. The manager went out of her way to override the cashier who began to honor the request and told the customer firmly that all toys are the same for each day. The woman angrily tearing through the bags, the manager getting frustrated, and the cashier trying to motion to the customer to be quiet, created quite a scene. It turns out that the cashier had the wherewithal to realize that the written policy was inappropriate in this situation and slipped in different toys while the manager wasn't looking. The customer, upon realizing she had four different toys, loudly exclaimed her gratitude to the horror of the cashier. I nearly expected the manager to snatch the toys from the customer, but she too sensed that it would be highly inappropriate and simply walked away. Moral of the story: the more you document and train staff on your customer service policies, the more likely they will act in a way that makes you money.

Procedures
Whereas documenting policies is powerful, creating clear procedures is the corner stone of turning customer service into a competitive advantage. For example, pretend you have a rewash guarantee if it rains within 24 hours of the wash. Now, when the customer returns you have a procedure that the greeter must recite, "I'm sorry you had to take the time to get a rewash, I'll get you right in. Also, here's a coupon for a free Total Body Protectant upgrade on your next wash anytime in the next two weeks. It's our best paint protectant and we recommend having it done at least once a month." This procedure is scripted and very simple but the message is powerful. In a few seconds, you have confirmed that you have the best interest of the customer in mind, respect their time, and also established your integrity. From a trusted position of authority, you outlined the frequency they should visit your wash to prevent damage to their car and provided an incentive to give it a try. Occasionally, I've seen great car wash operators throw out good customer service policies, like a free re-wash, without a procedure. What happens is that the customer returns for their free wash to a greeter who won't make any money unless they can sell them something new. If the greeter is good, chances are the customer will end up buying some additional service and leave feeling violated. Alienating customers was certainly not the intention of your re-wash policy, but is what may happen without a well-trained procedure.

To me, one of the companies that best exemplify using procedures to elevate trust is the Walt Disney Corporation. I can visit their theme parks and leave with confidence that they truly tried to make every second of my visit as enjoyable as it could be. Try to identify companies you trust 'to do no evil' and think of how you can own that quality in your market. Being trusted can be very profitable. Just ask Google, whose original slogan just so happened to be 'Don't be Evil'.

Mechanize the Delivery
Nothing matters if your customers don't know about and believe in the sincerity of your customer service policies. Training is vital, but not enough. One employee not singing the same tune can cost you hundreds of loyal customers before you even realize what went on. Put your policies in writing and make them visible on signs, receipts, or anywhere a customer will see them. This will elevate the attention your staff gives to customer service and soften the impact of a negative encounter with an improperly trained employee.

Summary
Ask yourself, "do my customers believe that I am the best car wash in the market without question?" It's not just about delivering a clean, dry, shiny car. You must earn their trust through customer service. For anyone still interested in where I witnessed the unexpected exemplary customer service, it was at the University where my oldest daughter is starting her first semester. Everywhere I turned someone seemed to be trying to help me. More times than I can remember someone reassured me of the school's policies and support systems. Each University representative I met gave me personal contact information and encouraged me to contact them with any questions I thought of later. After each procedure I increasingly trusted that no school could possibly care more about my daughter's success. If my daughter fails, I'm going to absolutely believe it must be her fault and not the school's. It's interesting how customer service and trust influence our purchasing decisions.

Anthony Analetto has over 26 years experience in the car wash business and is the President of SONNY'S The Car Wash Factory’s Equipment Division. Before coming to SONNY'S Anthony was the Director of Operations for a 74-location national car wash chain. Anthony can be reached at 800-327-8723 x 104 or at aanaletto@sonnysdirect.com