Franchisees: Rules Need Not Stop Super Customer Experience #cx
by Kate Nasser | 2 Comments »
Franchisees must follow franchise rules. In fact, some brands actually look for frenchisees who are comfortable following rules.
Yet customers don’t care about the rules. They want a great experience and rules don’t deliver it. Here’s the question. Do the franchise rules stop super customer experience? They don’t have to.
Franchisees: Rules Need Not Stop Super Customer Experience
Franchisees: Amaze Customers With These Top Tips
Despite the franchise rules, you can wow customers with a great customer experience.
- Inspire service workers to care. Start each shift with a service motto. Use one example each day of how the workers make a difference! Inspire workers to care before you teach them to smile.
- Give each customer your full attention. Customers are becoming more and more insulted by distracted workers. At check out counters, workers are chatting with friends while scanning customer purchases. They are texting and talking on the phone while customers wait for service. Attention is one of the easiest ways to show customers you care. It is the first impression you give and sets the tone for the interaction.
- Smile. You’ve read it before and I say it again. Customers have chosen to come to your business. A smile says welcome and thank you. It defuses their tension. Everyone has struggles. You can lighten their load and make a difference.
- Listen. Make sure you know what customers want. Restate what the customer asks for. Listen for special requests. One drive-through customer stressed they didn’t want any ketchup on their burger. As they drove away and reached into the bag, they found a burger with ketchup. They came back with the burger — very upset.
- Double check before you deliver. Had the worker checked the order before giving the burger to the customer, they would have prevented the bad experience.
- Blame no one. In a family style chain restaurant, the customer at the table next to mine told the server he brought the wrong order. He then blamed the customer. “That’s what you pointed to on the menu.” Had he restated the customer’s order before sending it into the kitchen, he would have prevented the problem.
- Let the customers have their say. When customers are upset, don’t interrupt them. Don’t say calm down. They don’t take orders. Customers aren’t in your army. If you let them speak, they will come up for air. Then show them some empathy and work to resolve the problem.
Be kind. It creates a great customer experience.
Successful franchisees strive and know how to create an irresistible customer experience despite the rules. Their customers rave about the service to their friends and family.
As franchisees, they inspire great service attitudes. So hire friendly employees. Model great service and train service workers to deliver it. Appreciate their work and recognize their efforts.
Treat employees well. Be the model of how to treat customers! Remember always that business rules need not stop a super customer experience.
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
Let’s do a customer service workshop or webinar for your service workers. Together we can make a difference! Ph: 908.595.1515.
Related Post:
24 Customer Service Tips to Make It Easy for Customers
11 Surefire Beliefs for Superior Customer Experience
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Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
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Hi Kate,
That reminded me of an incident happened to me few weeks ago. I took my son to a special tuition class after school. The place looks excellent with friendly staff. The only thing that I didn’t like was their prices. When I asked for a reason behind their high cost the owner said this is the franchise agreement and they can’t change it. I was absolutely shocked. I was expecting something like “The quality of our service is so unique that you can’t find a place with such quality within this cost range”
That showed me they don’t trust what they do and they see no value of their quality provided.
Within a week of my visit, I decided to look for another place, not only because of their high cost, but because they don’t believe their service deserves this much.
Khalid
Hi Khalid,
Every sales and service rep should read your comment. Very telling in how it came across to you. I very much agree. If they don’t believe in it, why should the customers?
You always bring real life examples to the discussion on this blog and I am very grateful.
Warmest wishes of thanks,
Kate