Page 39 - Flathead Beacon // 7.30.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS MONTHLY BUSINESS IS PERSONAL Mark Riffey
JULY 30, 2014 | 39
Earning Return Business, Part Two
AUGUST 2 ND
LAST WEEK, I SHARED A story about how Best Buy avoided losing my family’s phone business (and perhaps all our business) by bending the rules a little on an insurance claim that had gotten in the weeds thanks to a combination of errors on our part and theirs. This week, car rentals. We recently drove 1,300-plus miles to see my mom and rented a car for the trip. Most of the adventure occurred during the rental car pickup, of course.
DELIVER WHAT YOU PROMISE, UNLESS YOU CAN’T
I reserved a small, high-mileage car for the trip. My evil plan was to rent a car whose difference in gas mileage would more or less cover the rental, while giving us a chance to check out the car. While talking on the phone to the local guy at the rental place, I was assured that they had one in stock. When I arrived, they didn’t have the car I reserved.
This isn’t uncommon when reserva- tions are made online and far in advance, but when you call the local outlet and
won’t be enough. That’s why it’s critical to train your staff and give them the authority (and boundaries) to resolve situations like this without forcing the client to hear them restate policy, wait for permission to escalate the issue, wait for a response from corporate, etc. Making your clientele wait another 45 minutes and getting them on the phone with the corporate call center will make things worse, not better. That’s why last week’s Best Buy situation worked – there was no waiting. Waiving the fuel charge meant more than not worrying about the fuel – it meant not making an extra stop before returning the car. Little things ...
LITTLE LIES ARE STILL LIES
On the negative side, there was a token apology for not having the reserved car we’d talked about, and, of course, no action on that. However, I understand that things happen and you can’t give someone a car you don’t have (the car didn’t come back on time from the prior renter). In your business, this is where you take the opportunity to make things
406.257.RACE
3790 HIGHWAY 93 NORTH
MONTANARACEWAYPARK.COM
Travel Retirement First Business Growing Family College
Growing financially requires direction, patience and a plan — a plan based on wisdom and experience. D.A. Davidson & Co. has been helping investors chart their financial goals for over 75 years. When you’re ready to chart your course, call us.
406-752-6212 or 1-800-955-2208 200 First Ave. E., K-M Bldg., Kalispell, MT 59901 406-862-2101 or 1-888-564-3008 14 West Second Street, Whitefish, MT 59937
midseason madness!!!
FLATHEAD BEACON BOMBERS
lucas oil super stocks
CHS Legends,,
Don K Whitefish Hobby
Stocks &&
Hornets!!
“NOT LONG AGO I HEARD SOMEONE SAY, ‘EXCUSES ARE A LIE WRAPPED IN A REASON.’”
ask the “Do you have what I reserved?” question before leaving the house, you expect to get it. Turned out, they had so few cars that they ended up making me wait 45 minutes while they tried to clean up their “mule” (shuttle car).
The car I got was a lower mileage car than we wanted, though not terribly low, and it wasn’t the one we wanted to evaluate for purchase, so it ended up being a less productive rental than we’d hoped. They were wise enough to end the pickup experience on a positive note by defusing the frustration of a 45-minute wait by waiving the fuel charges and say- ing, “Bring it back as empty as you can.”
If you’re calculating the cost of defus- ing situations like this in your business, keep in mind that the fuel charge savings of at most $30 aren’t what defuse the sit- uation. Owning up to the inconvenience, apologizing and making an effort to ease the annoyance is where the situation is turned around.
OWNING UP IS PART OF EARNING RETURN BUSINESS
With some clients, owning up, apologizing and putting $30 on the table
better, not worse. For example, they could have retrieved the same make/ model car from the airport (30 miles away), or suggested that I go there and pick up that car to save time and then comp the airport parking of my car. They didn’t offer either.
When I asked why they operate differently from the airport, such as charging us for a day when they are closed, I got the excuse that local rental locations “work differently” than the air- port location because, “we’re a different company.” Of course both use the same reservation systems, corporate branding and pricing. But they’re different.
TRAIN THE EXCUSES OUT OF YOUR STAFF
Not long ago I heard someone say, “Excuses are a lie wrapped in a reason.” In your internal training, you’ve got to repeatedly reinforce that things like this are unacceptable discussion points. They aren’t malicious, but they become part of your story because you’ve told them 100 or 1,000 times. Each one is a paper cut on your culture and your repu- tation, and eventually, those cuts bleed.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, rescuemarketing.com, or contact him via email at [email protected].