How do you know what your customers think if you don’t ask?

I’ll admit that I’m one of those people who will appreciate help at a store or a restaurant, have all intentions of emailing the manager about the clerk’s kind service, but get distracted and never remember to do so.

Or, on the other hand, I’ll be so appalled by the service somewhere that instead of calling the manager the next day, I’ll take my frustrations out on a bad review on Yelp or Google, or just make a conscious decision to never return to that establishment.

Unfortunately for retailers or service providers, this is the case with a lot of customers. They come into your store, have a good or bad experience, and you never hear about the situation or get to fix any issues. That’s why I was happy to participate when I received a survey shortly after visiting a Marriott a few months ago.

But I was even more surprised, and pleased, when I received a response. My friends and I had an issue in that we had ordered a rollaway when we booked the room, but when we arrived, we were told we couldn’t have one because of fire codes. We understood why we couldn’t have the rollaway, but we were frustrated that we had been told otherwise during the reservation process, and had planned our trip with the idea that we would have an extra bed.

Though my issue was never solved, I was glad to receive a response to my feedback from the survey. This is feedback that I probably wouldn’t have given had there not been a survey. Instead it would have festered with me, reminding me not to book there again. But following that response and knowing the rest of the hotel experience went well, I’ll likely return to that hotel because I know customer service is important to them.

Think about how you follow-up with your customers. Do you send them a survey? Do you give them a call and ask about their in-store experience? Do you solve any issues when possible? Or do you never contact your customers again once they’re out your doors?

Paying a little attention to your customers is all they ask for. Even if their experience wasn’t first class, there’s a chance you can convince them to come in and give you another chance if you just ask.

Liz Hochstedler is the associate editor of Powersports Business, a trade magazine for the powersports industry. She reports on the powersports industry through Powersports Business’ varied media, including in the magazine and online. She assembles the brand’s twice-a-week e-news and handles a variety of assignments for the magazine. Powersports Business is known for its exclusive national dealer surveys, in-depth industry analysis and dealership conference, Profit Xcelerator.

Contact: ehochstedler@powersportsbusiness.com
Website: www.powersportsbusiness.com