Three C's of Customer Appreciation

Happy First Day of Summer. It's a balmy 84 degrees here at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I'm watching the birds circling for lunch over the lake and I'm just generally being happy and feeling very successful. Yes, if you read my previous post, you know I just earned $0.34 in affiliate commissions. Of course that is outstanding news and demonstrates to me what I always knew: Kyle and Carson are correct – This Stuff Works!
While money is important – that's not what has me pumped up this week. I just received one of the three C's of customer appreciation. Let me tell you about it.
The Old Shop Keeper Who Couldn't Count

There was once an old man who had a small neighborhood grocery store. It was successful and the store had been a driving force in the neighborhood for years and years. This particular store outlived most of the stores of its type as buying preferences had changed. Customers were shopping at the big, bright, shiny stores and convenience stores. This store however lived on for several more years.
A young man worked at the store after school, sweeping the floors, stocking the shelves, sacking groceries and making at-home deliveries. If you've ever been a parent, you know there is a time (usually the teen-aged years) where the child knows everything and Mom and Dad are completely clueless.
One day, the know-it-all kid poked fun of his boss, the owner of the store. He laughed and told the old man he obviously didn't know how to count. Mrs. Jones just asked, and paid for, a dozen bananas but was given thirteen. Unrelenting, the employee told the old man he made the same mistake almost every day with lots of customers, and pointed out just how much money had been lost due to a counting error.
The old man considered what the youngster was telling him and slowly replied, 'You know Mrs. Jones could buy her bananas at the big store out on the highway, but she comes here. Why do you suppose that is?' He continued, 'I always give my customers just a little more than they expect – and that is what keeps them coming back again and again. If I gave her twelve when she paid for twelve bananas, she wouldn't feel special and might spend her money elsewhere. It isn't a mistake – it's a practice I've been following for 40 years.'
Make 'em Feel Special and Important
I heard that tale years ago and have never forgotten it. I always try to give my customers more than they expect and it keeps them feeling special. It keeps them spending money with me even if my price might be a little bit higher. I believe this is why a some people do business with the Mom and Pop shops rather than the big box stores.
In our computer business, we regularly received gifts from our happy customers. They would bring us gifts as a sign of appreciation for the outstanding value we provided them.
These things I refer to as the...

Three C's of Customer Satisfaction

• Cookies
• Cakes
• Computers

Computers you say? Yes indeedy (is that a word)! In the technology business, we would often times tell a customer not to spend money with our repair shop if the cost of their repair was too much. We had decided years earlier not to sell new computers even though we could build them all day long.
We would tell them their money would be better spent at Dell, HP, or some other good computer manufacturer. We would forego profit today and keep our integrity.
Big Profits - No Cost
We had so many people donate their old retired, computers to us. We would combine parts from several broken machines to make one good one. We became known as a repair center, and a seller of good, guaranteed used computers. We made a fortune selling used PC's cheap. It became one of our biggest profit centers.
This wouldn't have been possible if we hadn't given them something extra, like the 13th banana.
I still repair computers in my area. My target market is usually senior citizens. I follow that same philosophy of giving something extra. One of my favorite customers gave me a relatively new laptop computer because she just bought a new one. It works perfectly (of course, I repaired it)!
The 3 C's still work, but I haven't gotten any cookies lately.
Kali