Have you ever wondered what it looks like to go above and beyond in your business? This phrase “above and beyond” is something that pretty much EVERY training company tells you to do. Yet the majority of the time, they don’t give you actionable ways to do it, they just talk about how important it is.
So we are going to share with you what it looks like to go the extra mile. To do something for another person just because it is the right thing to do, not blowing it off because it isn’t in your job responsibilities.
Sherrie, a CSR and operations manager living in Missouri, demonstrates exactly what it means to go above and beyond. You remember the last couple of weeks where temperatures hit record lows in many states? Well, one of Sherrie’s customers was the recipient of some electrical problems due to these record low temps and was suffering from no power.
After the service professionals installed a new electrical panel, the utility was supposed to reconnect the power. Sadly, the utility company fought back and refused to reconnect anything until after hearing from the inspector. And even more sadly, the inspector only works one day per week and wasn’t due to drive back out to this small town for some days.
Sherrie and her team of CSRs and service professionals kept pushing through, working to contact this inspector to PLEASE go back to the customer’s home and verify that everything was okay so the utility company could reconnect their power. Sherrie even offered to pay the inspector for his drive back to the customer’s home if he could just help take care of them in a timely manner. Yet all of their efforts seemed in vain as the inspector and utility company refused to help and verbally dumped some choice words on them, sent them on a wild goose chase, and refused to answer the phone, thus sending them to voicemail.
It wasn’t her job to chase down the inspector and call the utility company. But it was the RIGHT THING TO DO for her customer in these dire circumstances.
In the middle of the conversation between the utility company, inspector, and Sherrie was the customer. This customer was left in the cold, caring for a husband with dementia, and of course, getting agitated about the entire situation that was out of their control. Imagine being stuck in record low temps with no power!
But persistence, good hearts, teamwork, and purpose kept this team going. Eventually Sherrie and her team were taken seriously, and the inspector and utility company took responsibility for their part in taking care of this customer, apologizing to Sherrie, and even complimenting her on doing good work.
Sherrie and her team made a world of difference to this customer. It wasn’t her job to chase down the inspector and call the utility company. But it was the RIGHT THING TO DO for her customer in these dire circumstances. And her efforts created a client for life.
We encourage you to start thinking outside of the box, start thinking about doing something for your customer that might not have ANYTHING to do with the reason they called you in the first place. This is what it means to go above and beyond. This is what it means to not just be another service company. We encourage you to find something you can do today for one of your customers that makes you stand out, that you do something for them just because it is the right thing to do.
Sherrie’s testimonial to us:
Where you come in is that I know that I made it through those conversations earning respect, getting the customer taken care of and holding people accountable because of my training. You, Power Selling Pros, saved my life that day. :) And God backing my little message of Care when it felt like all the players in the scenario were using their energy on Discare and Disconnect (no pun intended).
Customer service and dispatching is one of the most crucial drivers of success and points of differentiation for any home services company. To learn more about the process, and access a free training package of resources that includes industry research, video lessons, sample presentation materials and more, visit www.EGIA.org/CBS-Customerservice.
Brigham Dickinson is president and founder of Power Selling Pros (www.powersellingpros.com), a leading coaching and training firm dedicated to teaching businesses to WOW more customers. Brigham is also a founding faculty member of EGIA Contractor University (www.egia.org/university).