Going Above and Beyond in Your Franchise Business: Outstanding ...

Outstanding Customer Service Stories & What to Learn From Them

At Kiddie Academy, we appreciate story-worthy customer service everywhere we find it.? Our first post of this series introduced the Michelin-quality customer service of Morton?s Steakhouse, but now Zappos.com, the online shoe and apparel shop, is giving them a run for their money.

This near-mythic tale reveals key insights on how franchise owners can make life-long customers and gain referrals in a cinch.

Zappos Saves Best Man From Barefoot Trip Down the Aisle

When soon-to-be best man Jay didn?t receive his quintessential dress shoes from Zappos due to a UPS mix up, he did what anyone would do: he panicked.? After struggling unsuccessfully with the UPS hotline, Jay turned to Zappos customer service in the hopes that they could make a miracle happen.

Jay connected instantly with Zappos customer service rep Lydia, his first line of defense against ceremonial tragedy.? The magic happened in a wink: with one click, Lydia overnighted a new pair of shoes to the wedding destination. She then upgraded Jay?s Zappos account to VIP status. The icing on the cake?? We?ll let Jay tell you:

?[Lydia] issued a complete refund. Free shoes. Unbelievable. Zappos has earned a customer for life.? (Read Jay?s complete story here.)

The Takeaway for a Franchise Business Owner

Zappos has made an art of doing what needs to be done to achieve ultimate customer satisfaction. Implement these tips in your childcare franchise or small business to attain their level of success:

• Turn someone else?s fumble into your success: Recovering from your own blunders is a must, but the stories that will really stay with your customers are the times when you were able to solve an outside issue for them.

• Hire employees you can trust: Lydia was likely trained to respond to situations like Jay?s, but she also had the freedom to make it happen seamlessly. Hire employees whose judgment you trust, so they can help a customer at a moment?s notice.

• Make short-term concessions for long-term results: Though Zappos took a small monetary hit in order to help Jay, they gained a life-long customer who will refer them (and in Jay?s case, sing their praises in an interview)!

Look out for the next post in this series to discover customer service secrets from Trader Joe?s.

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