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 Are
Your Frequent Customers Freeloaders, Scoundrels or Cheats?
Many
companies reward their customers with a system for accumulating
points with each purchase. These points are redeemable
for free products or services in the future.
Fly enough on the same airline and you get a free ticket.
Stay enough nights with the same hotel and you can enjoy
free weekends. Rent cars from the same company again
and again and free upgrades will be yours. Buy coffee
or ice cream nine times in a row and the tenth cup or
cone will be free.
This habit of gathering points is widespread and familiar,
but customer experiences when redeeming these points
are incredibly inconsistent. Some companies go out of
their way to make you feel truly rewarded for the loyalty
you have shown. Others treat you like a freeloader and
dish out only the lowest level of service. This is a cultural (and business) issue of the highest
order. Here are a few examples: An ice cream store ran a promotion to encourage frequent
buyers. If you ate ice cream enough times during the
promotional period, you earned a coupon for one free
‘all-you-can-eat’ session of indulgence
the following month. One of my students earned the coupon and went to enjoy
his indulgence. The first scoop of ice cream was presented
in an attractive glass bowl with a clean spoon. His
second scoop was placed back into the same glass bowl,
with a new spoon. The third scoop came back in the same
glass bowl again, with the same old spoon. The fourth
scoop was served in a paper cup with a small wooden
spoon. The fifth scoop came back in the same paper cup
with the same wooden spoon and a glower from the manager
in charge. My student did not stay for any further scoops in his
‘all-you-can-eat’ celebration...and has
not returned to that store for ice cream again.
He noted, ‘I felt humiliated by the staff, as
though enjoying my all-you-can-eat prize was in some
way cheating the store. Hadn’t I earned my coupon?
Didn’t I deserve to enjoy the prize?’
One popular airline encourages frequent flying with
‘double miles’ promotions and special ‘tier
bonuses’ for very frequent flyers. One of our
subscribers tried to use her points to book a free award
ticket in First Class, but the airline refused to confirm
her reservation. The airline’s approach was to
sell the seats first to ‘real’ paying
passengers, and then ‘give the seats away’
to frequent flyers if they were still available at the
very last moment before departure.
How shortsighted! How does the airline think the passenger
accumulated all those points in the first place? By
flying as a ‘real’ paying passenger, of
course! Contrast this approach with the more enlightened view
of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Redeeming an award with
Starwood is fast and easy, and the service you get in
the hotel is especially warm and attentive. The Asia-Pacific
Manager of Customer Care explained it to me this way:
‘If someone has enjoyed an award before, they
will strive to earn more points.’ Listen carefully to the language:
1. Enjoyed an award means Starwood makes a
special effort to ensure the customer is pleased with
his or her entire redemption experience: booking the
award and enjoying the award.
2. They will strive
to earn more points means customers will go out
of their way to accumulate Starwood points by staying
in Starwood properties, dining in Starwood restaurants,
bringing more visits, more revenues and more profits
to Starwood.
Key Learning
Point
Anyone who redeems
a frequent buyer award has already proven their loyalty
to your organization. The experience of ‘winning’
should make customers eager to come back and win with
you again. Remember, what they get from you is not ‘free’
– they earned it.
Action
Steps
Review the procedures
for your ‘frequent customer program’. Make
sure these temporarily ‘non-revenue’ customers
are treated with the high level of special service they
deserve: appreciate them, acknowledge them, praise, thank
and take good care of them. Remember, ice cream is everywhere
and airplane seats are abundant. Giving personal recognition
and appreciation through your ‘frequent customer
program’ will ensure that your best customers keep
coming back.
Next Article in Customer Service Partners >>
Unsuccessful Applicants Deserve Good Service Too
First Article in Customer Service Perception Points >>
You Have Leverage. Use it
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
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