I agree with my preacher.
For him, one of the best places to experience real service is at a five-star hotel. You do not have to book a stay, just ask where the men’s room
is (or the ladies room, for that matter) and expect to be escorted to your
purpose. They do not merely point the way, they lead the way.
I would like to add that there are supermarkets staffs, rare they maybe, with the same 5-star attitude. I am not only pointed to the aisle where
the dried Kafir lime leaves are but am actually led to them.
I love being treated this way. It makes me feel like
royalty. It feels good to be seen as a person and not merely a number or a
prospect.
Sadly, this type of thinking is grossly missing in most businesses
these days. The focus is at ramming as much and as many products as possible,
needed or otherwise, down the customer’s throat. No time for relationships, no
time for connection, nothing personal only business.
Lucky for mountain bikers like me, there is one company that
believes on seeing their customers as persons. Not only did they pioneer a
product that will allow mortals like me enjoy the benefits of a mechanical
upgrade only the mega rich can afford, they went further by investing on
engineering research aimed at addressing issues that comes with innovation. They
led the effort.
It is rare for a company to develop a well engineered add-on
to improve the performance of an already good product and then included it as a
freebie in their subsequent deliveries. More than good, now the user has
something better. And never wanting to ignore early adapters, they offer the add-on at prices nearly half their competition. As Stitch would say, “No one gets left behind.”
Importantly, they welcome technical opinion from people keen
on elevating the sport, whether they buy from their catalog or not.
This practice creates one important impression: the customer
is king. It makes the loudest marketing noise and fosters brand loyalty.
Seth Godin once issued a challenge: rather than find people
who will buy your product, find products people will buy. One company rose to the challenge.
What makes me brave the trails more than personal skills are
the parts I chose to install. Knowing fully well heart and foresight was
involved in developing my equipment, I climb that hill with confidence. I
know things will never fall apart, thanks greatly to that company who never saw
me as a number but as king.
