Customer Service – Small Investment, Big Return
April 25th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News
This morning on my way to church I was listening to National Public Radio and was struck by a story about Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport in Holland.
Amsterdam is a major hub in European air transportation and, being in the northern climes, is accustomed to weather challenges.
When the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland (my birth place!) caused wide spread panic, threats of lawsuits and over the top anxiety levels, Ad Rutten, chief operation officer of Schiphol approached the unexpected shutdown in terms of hospitality rather than crisis management.
What did Rutten do to make stranded passengers as comfortable as possible? In addition to making sure there was adequate food and drink available – served in “a proper manner” - the airport bought shower capacity at local hotels and from airline lounges so passengers, even in days old clothes, could feel somewhat refreshed.
The airport also brought in entertainment – dancers, musicians, and even clowns for the children.
As he so astutely noted, “customer service is a small investment with a big return.”
I appreciated this story from a number of angles. First, I’ve been stuck in airports because of weather delays and second, I know how important customer service is – no matter what business you are in.
As a Realtor® I do my very best to provide the kind of service I would want to receive.
For one client that meant meeting the moving van and supervising the delivery because the husband was on alert at the Pentagon and his wife and 3 week old son had not arrived from Hawaii.
I’ve shoveled snow, cut brush, put down mulch, loaned my truck, met clients at all hours to sign contracts, dog sat, baby sat, brought in repair people, picked up relatives at the airport, talked to anxious parents of young first time buyers, and the list goes on and on.
I have yet to sing or dance and most would agree it’s best that way but, if needed, I’ll do that too.
It’s really very simple – I will do whatever it takes to make sure my customers are satisfied. After all, I’m in this for the long haul and customer service, while a small investment, has big returns.
Michael
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