Making Your Customers Feel Special

RK’s father (YK) went into hospital for surgery in Japan. The operation was successful and he is recovering …though he is still in hospital as I write this.

But I had an amazing experience I wanted to share with you.

It’s not my first time to have such an experience…but they are rare.

Here’s what happened…

I wanted to send YK a fruit or flower basket wishing him a speedy recovery. Nice, right? But there were some big logistics to work out.

I’m in Vancouver and the hospital is in Nagoya, Japan. First you should know that I spent almost 5 years living and running a business in Japan.

So while this process would have been difficult for some…it wasn’t for me.

Enough boasting and back to the lesson in this story.

I scoured the web using both English and Japanese search engines to find the right basket….one full of this particular seasons best crop of melon, grapes, apples, peaches and other delicious fruits.

It took a while but finally I found a company that would deliver this perfect fruit basket to YK in hospital.

I picked up the phone and called the company. I guess they don’t get many calls from overseas because when they answered the phone and I told them I was calling from overseas…the phone got passed right away to the president of the company.

We talked and I explained I needed to get this fruit basket to the hospital right away.

Okay, no problem he said. I told him I’d give him my credit card number….well, that’s a problem he said.

This company, like many still in Japan doesn’t yet except credit cards…they take bank transfers or accept payment upon delivery.

Well, I’m not going to get someone to pay when this basket is delivered…and my Japanese bank account isn’t active unless I’m in Japan…

…I’m out of luck I thought, too bad, that basket was perfect.

The president said to call him back in 15 minutes. He’d call the credit card company and see if they could process this…as they are only 2 or 3 days from being set up (they were planning to start accepting credit cards soon).

20 minutes later I called back. The president said, “I’m sorry the credit card company said it will take 3 more days to have everything set up.” I wasn’t completely surprised…actually I was kind of expecting that answer. But he continued “Listen, I trust you. Give me your order and I’ll send it off today. When we can take credit cards in a few days from now, I’ll send you the invoice and just pay me then.”

Wow! Really? Thanks man!

So I placed my order and the beautiful basket of fruits arrived a day later.

What’s the lesson here you say? It’s trust. This business owner took a chance. He could have lost his cost on the basket…maybe $60. Of course I paid him right away. But what he did was get a client for life.

He made me feel special. He trusted me…I feel I can trust him now.

The next time I have to send someone a gift for a special occasion or to send wishes for someone’s recovery…I will, without hesitation order from this company again. And, I’ll tell everyone about them.

Put trust in your clients and they will trust you. They will rave about you. They will become your sales team…and your profits will soar.

To your success,

Michael Zipursky