Just walked into the Starbucks at 40 Front St E, in downtown Toronto, to work for a couple of hours. Ordered a cup of coffee and some VIA for the office. Barista told me they were out of the VIA coffee I was looking for, and before I even blinked in disappointment, he told me my cup of coffee was on the house, and apologies for the inconvenience.

That’s incredible customer service. If a big corporation like Starbucks can do it, can’t we all?

Make the world slightly better today. It starts with the unexpected…

Thanks to the folks at WebDesignCool.com for sharing these graphics.

1. Be helpful: We all have problems, and if you can stop for a moment and listen to your customers and approach them with solutions, they’ll be grateful and remember you for it.

2. Extraordinary Customer Service: I know it’s been said before, but this time, get everyone in your company involved. Make it a personal goal of every department. If you are remarkable in the quality of your customer service, you will earn the respect and appreciation of your customers, and next time they need anything, they’ll think of you first.

3. Forget about Marketing. I know it sounds crazy, but please just bear with me for a moment. There are too many companies out there wasting their money on ads, when they would be better off focusing that effort and money on developing relationships with their customers, in reaching out to them, and in being helpful. The fact is that if you do what I’ve listed here today, you won’t have to do any marketing. Your customers will do it for you. And in today’s world, that’s more powerful than any ad campaign.

Thank you for listening, and please get in touch with me and let me know what you think. Until next time,

-Franklin

Here I’m posting the videos from the program, where we discussed various issues including the need to further improve the complementary offer, the impact of lowering prices, and a phrase I liked from Cesar Pacheco (economist): “think globally and act locally. ” Note: the videos are in spanish.

From this space I would like to thank the team behind Channel 4 and the show Economía Balear for their excellent work every week, and especially Beatriz for putting togeher a very interesting program and for extending me an invitation to participate.

-Franklin

One approach with which I’ve shared many intense discussions in recent months with friends in this sector is the quality of customer service. Specifically, the fact that, although I am in first attest to the multiple places in the Balearic Islands that offer unparalleled service and high quality, there is still much to be done in order to be known by our tourists by our excellence in service.

This week I read in an article by Rafel Amorós from the eQutel Blog, where he referenced the results of a survey conducted by the Gades Foundation, indicating that the level of satisfaction in tourists and their interest in returning to Mallorca has decreased.

An example of a destination that has established itself as a benchmark in quality offered to customers is the Riviera Maya in Mexico. I recently had the opportunity to experience it firsthand during a stay of 2 weeks and I came back eager to return. This is a short video I recorded a few minutes before going to the airport at the end of our stay, where I ask a hotel employee what he thought of quality in customer service. (The video is in Spanish!)

If we are to remain competitive in this sector, it is clear that we must be constantly improving in all areas, but particularly in the area of customer service, where we have much room for improvement. And the responsibility lies with everyone, not just those who are failing at it. Together we must learn to take better care of tourists, and share tips on how to do it.

-Franklin

Just a few steps from me there is a large supermarket offering a variety of products including a wide selection of fresh fruits. This morning when I walked by this supermarket on my way to a small grocery store on the corner, I wondered: How come I frequent this grocery store which also has fresh fruits, but the supply is very limited in comparison, and the prices tend to be much less competitive?

Because it has something I have not yet managed to find in any large supermarkets: an exceptional customer service. From the first day I entered her small shop, she struck me as a very attentive and friendly person. A smile that welcomes you and asks how she can be of help to you, how she can assist you, and during the whole process you feel like she really cares for you to find what you are looking for.  And if you don’t, she is the first one to suggest that you try and find it in the larger supermarket beside her!

It’s true that every day there are fewer grocery stores, and more large supermarkets. But this one has managed to survive and I assure you that after watching the traffic it gets every day, it will continue to exist for a while longer. Perhaps unknowingly, she has discovered that the secret to compete with the big ones is to go beyond simply providing a product.  Her success lies in caring and giving such a level of service that when you leave her shop you are feeling better than when you came in.

We live in times when stress is all around us. But this only means that it is easier to stand out and differentiate yourself in the area of customer service, because our human need to be heard and be taken into account, only gets intensified. Take a lesson from the lady in the grocery store and let us pay a little more attention and give better service. Remember that we all are clients, even you. This small change can become the reason why your customers will prefer to come to you, even if you’re a little further down the road, or even if your prices are not the most competitive.

-Franklin