+1 Care (Part 2)

An example of how to show up for customers from a monopoly.

A few weeks ago, we were sorting through and organizing everything in my daughter's baby box when I came across a "Congratulations" card celebrating her birth. Doesn't sound like anything groundbreaking or noteworthy until you hear the story:

First - the card was from one of our utility companies. And not even cable/internet (where there are multiple companies competing for your business) - this was from our natural gas company (a complete monopoly).

Second - the only way this company knew we were expecting was that it came up in passing conversation when my wife called the 800 number to set up service (we had recently moved).

Think about that for a moment: An agent, working for a utility company with no competition, not only listened to a customer's casual remark but also took the initiative to send a personalized card after the call.

It didn't hit me at the time we received the card, but upon reflection, I'm awed by the amount of care and personal touch demonstrated by this card. And I can't help but contrast this with other experiences I've had in the care realm - none of which measure up to the bar set by the utility company.

So I'll leave you with two questions to ponder:

1. Assuming you are competing for customers (not a monopoly) - are you doing more or less than this utility company did to show up for your customers and earn their loyalty?

And the second is a repeat from my first "+1 Care" post:

2. Are you empowering your team with the needed bandwidth to listen with empathy and respond accordingly? Or do they simply have a script?

Thanks for spending time with me in my workshop,

Eric