{"id":345,"date":"2011-03-12T11:37:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-12T11:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.completemarketingsystems.com\/cms\/?p=345"},"modified":"2011-04-20T17:56:05","modified_gmt":"2011-04-20T17:56:05","slug":"does-this-happen-to-your-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.completemarketingsystems.com\/cms\/does-this-happen-to-your-clients","title":{"rendered":"Does This Happen To Your Clients?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s not often that I rent a car when I travel because I don\u2019t really like driving when I\u2019m not familiar with the area, unless I have a navigator sitting in the passenger seat next to me telling me where to go. But, on a recent personal trip to Atlanta, I rented a car because I lived in Atlanta for more than 15 years and I pretty much know my way around. I was in Atlanta to play for the weekend and needed to get to my friends house which is about 27 miles from the airport, and renting a car is easier than inconveniencing anybody else.<\/p>\n

I am a member of rental car clubs so I never have to wait at the counter, but can simply go to the lot and my rental car is there waiting. They have my credit card on file so all I have to do is check out at the gate and I\u2019m on my way. I really love things that save me time and makes things more convenient for me.<\/p>\n

As it happened, I arrived in Atlanta just 2 days after they had moved all the rental car agencies to a central location requiring me to get on a moving tram to the rental car place instead of going and getting on the bus and going to get my car. No big deal.<\/p>\n

I arrived and easily found my car \u2013 it\u2019s a brand new Toyota Prius. That\u2019s when the adventure began. See, I drive a rather old pick-up truck (I live within a few miles of the beach and work from home, what do I need a new vehicle for . . . besides, Gail has a newer model Cheap Brand Cialis<\/a> 4Runner and I can drive that).<\/p>\n

First, I can\u2019t figure out how to get the trunk looking thingy open, so being the patient person I am, I just tossed my suitcase in the back seat instead. No big deal, right?<\/p>\n

Right, so after walking around the car to make sure there wasn\u2019t any damage or anything on the car, I slide into the driver\u2019s seat to start my journey to my friend\u2019s house. The \u201ckeys\u201d are sitting in the cup holder in the console between the front bucket seats. As I reach down to pick them up I see that there is no metal key sticking out of the end of the key like there should be, but I\u2019m not worried or concerned because I have a friend who drives a Volkswagen and with her key you have to flip the metal part out \u2013 I can do this!<\/p>\n

Oops, there\u2019s nothing to flip out. Now what do purchase cheap cialis online<\/a> I do? No idea, but I remain cool . . . until I look up and see that there\u2019s no place to put a key anyway. No ignition! Nope. Just a button looking thing with a green light on it.<\/p>\n

Ok, push the button, right? Well, not quite so fast. Pushing the button doesn\u2019t do anything but make a lot of lights on a very strange looking dashboard show up \u2013 they\u2019re blinking and turning colors and I expect that the car might explode at any moment. Also, there is a very strange looking diagram of the car on there too. This seems very strange to me. I later discovered I have been given a hybrid to drive. (Growing up on the farm a hybrid was what happened when you planted 2 types of corn seed together in the field, so I\u2019m not sure what corn is doing in the car, but I\u2019m going with it).<\/p>\n

The dash is telling me I have to push in the brake. No worries, I can do that \u2013 after all, I drive a stick shift everyday (well, at least I do when I do, on a rare occasion, leave the house). I know about the emergency brake, so I release it and try again. Now, I\u2019m puzzled because I get the same response.<\/p>\n

No problem. I\u2019m a problem solver by nature, so I\u2019ll look in the glove box for the owner\u2019s manual and see what to do. I had already looked for directions on the seat or hanging from the rear view mirror, but there weren\u2019t any.<\/p>\n

The glove box is empty, which I should have known since my dad sold cars for 25 years and I remember him telling me back then that people would steal the manuals if they left them in the car because they become collector\u2019s items over time. So, now what?<\/p>\n

I resolve myself to the fact that I\u2019m going to have to ask for help (something I\u2019m getting better at, but I\u2019m not as good at as I need to be). So, I look around to see who I can ask for help or get to come show me how to start this car so I can get on my way. There is not a single solitary soul for as far as I can see \u2013 not in this entire place filled with rental cars. I really don\u2019t want to have to go back inside to see about some help. As a matter of fact, I\u2019m not even sure I can figure out how to lock this hybrid car-like thing if I do get out to get some help and I\u2019m sure not going to walk off with my suitcase in the back seat.<\/p>\n

Oh, but as luck would have it, as I scan the car again to see if I missed some instructions laying somewhere and don\u2019t find anything, I look up, partly in disgust and partly in a bit of frustration, and there is a man coming across the parking lot, headed to an SUV (that I know how to start and drive), pulling a suitcase. So, I get out of the car thingy and ask the man if he can help me. We have a laugh as he tells me he had the same frustrating experience a few months ago when he rented a car and was given a similar hybrid model.<\/p>\n

He shows me the secrets, I thank him and he goes on his way.<\/p>\n

The car is now started, but it doesn\u2019t sound like it\u2019s running (which I find very strange and a little disturbing), so now all I have to do is put the car in drive and I\u2019ll be on my way. Sounds easy, but as I look down I realize the gear shift thingy looks and feels different than anything I\u2019ve ever seen before. They couldn\u2019t leave this part alone?, I wonder to myself.<\/p>\n

The gear shift doesn\u2019t look like anything I\u2019ve ever seen before and it appears to be in a neutral position because it will move in all directions. The knob has a D, B, P and N on it (or something similar to that). And, the strangest thing is that when I push it up to the D (which I assume, and hope means Drive), it doesn\u2019t engage and stay there, but pops back down to the neutral-like position.<\/p>\n

At this point, I\u2019m a little concerned but decide to take my foot off the brake, which by the way, was the key to starting the car \u2013 you have to have your foot on the brake to do anything with this little hybrid Prius (the lady at the little stand when you exit the lot was very clear about that fact \u2013 it would have helped to have known that when I got to the car, instead of as I was leaving the lot and already had the struggle of getting the car started). The car is now moving forward, which at this point I think is a good thing, as I\u2019m finally moving and will be headed toward my friend\u2019s house, much later than I expected.<\/p>\n

For the sake of time and space, I won\u2019t get into the part of the story about getting out of the new rental car area. I got a little turned around and lost in a not so great neighborhood but quickly got that corrected.<\/p>\n

When I returned the car and was asked how everything was I mentioned to the gal my trouble getting the car started and all that. She smiled at me and told me she hears that a lot and had even taken the initiative to suggest to management that they put some kind of direction sheet in the car but that to this point they hadn\u2019t. I thank her and am on my way to the plane to return home.<\/p>\n

It was amazing to me that this simple issue, which I am obviously not the only one who has been confused by could have been taken care of with a simple hang tag on the rear view mirror, or a sheet of paper on the car seat, with like 3 or 4 steps, and really simple directions, but the company had done nothing to enhance their customers experience by taking this simple action.<\/p>\n

About that time, it occurred to me that this happens a lot, in every business, and that most of us are probably doing similar things to our clients and prospects every day.<\/p>\n

Think about it. You invest in a course and it arrives at the door with no welcome sheet, no quick start guide, and no directions on what to do first, second or third. Just a big box, full of stuff.<\/p>\n

And, worse yet, many times we never communicate specifically about that purchase with our clients again. We don\u2019t check on their status, we don\u2019t hold any special teleseminars or webinars to get them started right, we don\u2019t do anything \u2013 we just send the box and leave them to their own devices.<\/p>\n

This is a lot like no directions in the rental car for how to start it or how to put it in gear. I was cialis no prescription<\/a> left to my own devices to fend for myself, with no help in sight. It would have taken so little to have helped me have a more positive experience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same with our products and services. How much extra effort would it take on your part to include a get started, a what to do next, or quick start type guide with your products when they\u2019re shipped? Not very much, and imagine how much just that one little thing would mean to your clients.<\/p>\n

Imagine what kind of response and good will you would get if somebody from your organization picked up the phone and called each person who ordered from you to check in with them. It\u2019s extra work, to be sure, but in the end it will more than pay for itself.<\/p>\n

The better we treat our clients, the more we do for them, the better relationship we have with them, the more likely they are to continue to buy from us, to attend our live events, and to be really good clients for a long time to come.<\/p>\n

Give your clients some directions and let them experience the joy of doing business with you each and every time you touch them. They\u2019ll stay with you longer and be a lot happier in the long run \u2013 and so will you.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not often that I rent a car when I travel because I don\u2019t really like driving when I\u2019m not familiar with the area, unless I have a navigator sitting in the passenger seat next to me telling me where to go. But, on a recent personal trip to Atlanta, I rented a car because…<\/p>\n

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