Here's the background.  In the USA, there have been around a dozen or so small children injured when their fingers were caught in hinges of folding pushchairs and/or buggies.  Maclaren have responded by voluntarily issuing a safety kit – which looks like a fabric cover to enclose the hinges and simply prevent little fingers from getting where they could be hurt.

So far so good.  A company that makes pushchairs that cuts off children's fingertips has to respond quickly or their reputation will be ruined.

Now, while it may seem irresponsible to let your children get anywhere near the pushchair as it's folded, as a parent myself I can honestly say that stuff does happen sometimes that isn't your fault as a parent.  My son climbed on a bollard when he was 5, for example, then promptly fell right onto his head from about 3 feet up, fractured his skull and scared the living daylights out of us.

Because children do these mad things, it's important that we can trust in the toys and equipment we buy for them.  So as a responsible parent, I've always tried to find the things that are safest – a cot with sides that can't trap fingers, dummy plugs to prevent the little darlings electrocuting themselves, and so on.

So it was a relief to hear that Maclaren responded quickly in the US to consumer concerns.  But then they said they're not going to give parents in Europe (apparently that includes their home country the UK) the same quality of service.

I've just seen the story on the BBC news and they have decided to simply issue a safety warning in the UK.  They are just telling you to keep your child away from the folding pram's hinges.  Personally I'd vote with my feet and buy another brand.  I bet that's what all the chatter will be about, now, on the European mom's internet sites.

My children are thankfully beyond riding in buggies.  But from where I'm sitting, this looks like a cynical attempt to look after the American market more carefully than their home turf, the British market.

It's not good enough for customers in Britain and it's a complete failure of their marketing department.  Whoever took this decision should be sacked.  It will deeply harm the company.  And I don't want to see that happen.

Maclaren is a firm with a great reputation.  That great reputation is being hung out to dry by this crass decision.  And now the press is giving them a tough time and they are, I quote from the BBC, "defending their decision".  They are defending the frankly indefensible.  Did nobody tell them that when you're in a hole you should stop digging?

Really – are they completely out of their minds?  Do they live in some kind of timewarp, a time before Internet sites and blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and email?  A quick UK google just showed me that currently in 5th place is this article with the shocking headline Maclaren Stroller Recall: Children's Fingertips Amputated.

I know that if I was the marketing director there, I'd be feeling sick to my stomach and desperate to make this problem go away really quickly.  And to show just how much the company cares about your babies.  I certainly would not be defending their decision.

But even worse, it suggests that the company has lost touch with the people they serve.  Proud, loving mums and dads.  It screams, "we don't care about  your kids, we're in compliance with EU regulations".  Whoop-de-doo.

If they did care, they'd have already issued these kits to every owner of a Maclaren buggy or pram that has the finger-chopping hinges, not just Americans.  This problem can only snowball from here.  I hope they survive the fallout.

By deciding not to issue the safety kits in the UK, they've shown that their corporate goal is not primarily about great, safe transport for your children.

So how does this relate to your business?  Simple.  Whatever you do, you must demonstrate that you care about your customers.  They put you where you are, and they can choose to walk away.  Look after them.  Fix problems quickly and treat them fairly.

I'm a business blogger and am writing this from the perspective of PR.  I'm also a parent and so I care, although that's not the purpose of this blog entry.  Imagine the posts and comments about Maclaren on the new and expectant mums blogs and forums.

I hope that Maclaren quickly wake up, issue an apology and send out hinge covers to all of their customers. Better that they pay the cost now, so they can recover quickly from a potentially business-threatening PR disaster.  Remember Ratner's jewellery chain?  At Maclaren, heads should roll, and soon.

This came back to my mind this evening while I watched "All Over The Shop", the BBC2 programme featuring business coach Geoff Burch visiting retailers in a selected city (Bristol this time) to give them tips to improve their fortunes.  Of the three shops I saw him visit, one of them did very little, even though the changes suggested were clearly going to improve his sales.

He understands the ideas, but he's just not taking action.  He had four weeks after hearing Geoff's advice to take action.  He did almost nothing.  The results he'll see will be almost nothing.

In the meantime, a coffee shop/cafe with books all around had taken huge action by comparison, becoming far cleaner and a much more inviting and pleasant shop to buy from.  The smell of chips and old cooking oil had gone, replaced with fresh paint and coffee smells.  Fresh panini and salad were on display in a clean, glass-fronted display counter and the feeling was of a transformation clearly under way.

What ideas have you had for your business, but not carried out yet?

Decide on a course of action, then do it.  There's a lot to be said for the Nike way – "Just Do It"…

You can watch All Over The Shop if you missed it, using the BBC iPlayer.  Recommended viewing for retailers, even if Geoff's advice sometimes puts the shop owners on the defensive, he is clearly trying to help them make a difference.  You might pick up a good idea or two for your own business, too.

This week I have eaten humble pie because I have started using one.  I wish I'd bought it years ago.  Email is a joy, the phone is fine and it's a really natty little device that's always with me. 

Next up I'll be using it for the calendar and getting my contact management address book fully over onto it – it's only got 183 contacts on so far and that will at least double before it's really useful to me.

The point of this posting, however, is not to tell the world that I've got a new gadget.  While it's nice to have a new toy (I am a man, after all), the real joy is that when a client emails me and I'm out of the office, I can get back to them quickly and efficiently wherever I am.

That means my responsiveness to customers improves and so they'll enjoy a better standard of service.  I also have less work to do when I get back to the office.

The added bonus is that I'm paying less for this whole service than I was for just a phone.  In fact, on two phones I use for business I'm saving close to £50 a month.  That's what I call a great result.

So here's a question for you.  What are you sceptical about doing or using for your business, even though you know other people who are doing it?  When you catch yourself thinking "That won't work for me", notice what it is you're talking about.  I did this for 4 years with the Blackberry and realise I've been missing out.

What are you too quick to dismiss?  Good business processes for your order processing?  A new accounting system?  A course in marketing for your business?  Even using a business coach perhaps!

Don't knock it until you try it is a good motto to live with if you want to take your business to new levels of success.

They talk and talk about what their product does without spending enough time to ask you what you want.

And so you drift off and start thinking about other things.

At the end, you decide if you want to buy based on your feelings about the product, not because of what you've learnt from them.

On behalf of poor customers everywhere that face this kind of awful selling every day, I'd like to say…

SHUT UP!

That's better, just be quiet.  I even tell salesmen this directly – then tell them what I really want, if they'll listen.  If they don't, I walk away and buy elsewhere.

Please join me in this – I want people to respect and love salespeople for doing a great job.  Let's get rid of the pushy Arthur Daleys and Delboy Trotters by not buying off them anymore.

Now as you sit there smiling about this, have you started wondering what YOU are like in front of customers?

If you want to improve, make sure you start every meaningful sales conversation by finding out precisely what your customer wants, before you utter any opinions, advice or thoughts.  They really don't care what you know until they know that you're interested in helping them. 

Spend the time to really listen, carefully.  Make notes and highlight to yourself the top 3 things your client wants, so that you can make sure your solution matches these needs when you offer them.  Don't jump in too soon and start talking – make sure you really understand first.

Now, I'm a naturally chatty guy and I know that over the years I've talked myself out of some sales.  It makes me cringe to think of those lost sales now.

So please work hard to shut up instead of talking.  Because when you listen, you find out what they really want.  And when you know what they really want, it's so much easier to give it to them and make you and them happy.

While teaching people to sell on the phone, it's probably even more important.  One client put stickers all around his monitor with the letters STFU written on them, to remind him to listen carefully.

You could do worse than take a leaf out of his book 

The surveys come in somewhere between around 10-20 people for each bad customer experience.

For a great customer experience, only 2-3 people are told about it, so the story goes.  I think this is reasonably true, because we remember things that emotionally engage us and then talk about them.

As a small business coach, I have seen the impact many times of bad customer experiences.  I also pay a lot of attention to the service I get.  In the past 2 weeks, I have suffered poor service on a grand scale.  Let's name and shame two of the culprits…

Do Vodafone Really Care?

When a company gets as big as Vodafone, the passion and vision for delivering their service doesn't always filter through to everyone in the business.

Take a look at the photo of the package that arrived this week.  That is what you get for spending £240 with them.  I ordered a SIM for my son's phone – £20/month contract.

No instructions, no "welcome to Vodafone" card or booklet, nothing but a scrumpled goods delivery note stuffed into an express delivery envelope.  Absolutely diabolical first impression.

Of course, if they asked for feedback themselves, I'd have gladly delivered it directly to them and kept it to myself until they responded.  And that's one of the secrets of great customer service – ask your clients how you're doing.

Instead of this, I have enjoyed telling a lot more than 11 people.

And As For VistaPrint…

I bought some new business cards – I was going to an event where business coaching just might be in demand – I wanted full colour and in a hurry – so I got them from VistaPrint.  Their online system for ordering is truly brilliant and I got them within 2 working days of designing them myself, online, and ordering.  Brilliant, what stunningly fast service

Then I opened the box and found my cards printed on cheap, poorly finished thin card, reminding me of the sugar paper my little girl likes to paint and draw on.

I ordered the best quality they have on their site.  They arrived and the card is just too thin.  Unimpressed, I used their customer service contact form and got an autoreply, "we'll be in touch with you within 48 hours, we really care" kind of thing.

That was two weeks ago and I have heard nothing since.  Nothing, that is, apart from an email every day trying to get me to spend more with them.

I've unsubscribed from their email list and will never use their services again.  I'll also advise anybody I know to go elsewhere.

Pity, because they have a great idea that's spoilt for the sake of probably £1 extra worth of card quality.  I'd have gladly paid the extra for the quality.

I have spoken to several people who think VistaPrint business cards are cheap and cheesy.  Their reputation will be created based on this impression.  It's such a shame because they do so many things right.

How To Give Great Customer Service

You need to have business systems in place to control all of the regular touch-points that you have with clients.  Every time a client interaction takes place, it's the place that stories are made. 

Would you prefer to have 3 people told great stories about you, or 11 people hearing bad news?

What would it have taken for VistaPrint to reply to my note and apologise, explaining why they don't use decent card.  Or even better, to send me some cards on better stock and say "Thanks! – we didn't realise – they're on the house for helping us improve!".

Vodafone really need a welcome pack for SIM only customers.  I thought that SIM only advertising meant the product, not the whole service too!

Ah well, at least it's been therapeutic for your coach to write this blog!

Singled Out by National Customer Awards Judges…

I've just been told that The Mortgage Broker Ltd have been singled out by the National Customer Awards judges for their exceptional customer service.  Here's an excerpt of what they said…

'I am pleased to inform you that The Mortgage Broker Ltd have been singled out by the judges of the National Customer Service Awards and have been awarded a 'Highly Commended' status in the Customer Service Team of the Year – Financial Services.'

Helping you to create an exceptional customer experience is something I always strive to do.  When you create something special, people take notice.  They also tell their friends about you and you get more customer referrals and business by doing a brilliant job.  To have one of my "home town" clients recognised in a prestigious national award is tremendous.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Darren, Terry, Pip and the team at The Mortgage Broker Ltd for this brilliant result and I believe many more awards will follow in the future because what you have built is an exceptional business.  Since you have also been short-listed for the self-certified mortgage category of the 2008 British Mortgage Awards, it goes to show just how far you have come and what a great business you have built.

Your Business Can Win Awards Too…

Last year another of my clients, BrightsVisions IT Solutions, were judged to be the Best Small Business in the Hunts Post Business Awards and The Mortgage Broker Ltd won the Judges Choice award.  The year before I was shortlisted personally for Business Person Of The Year.  In fact, many of my clients have won business awards over the past 3 years.  But each of these wins was not a hollow attempt at publicity, it was through effective business development that we got their businesses running well, growing, delivering great service and having a good team atmosphere.  If you, like me, want to build an award winning business using a proven approach, let's talk…

Take your first step to being an award winner – Call Lee on 01480 370142 for an initial free & confidential discussion