I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

During the Rolling Stones’ third tour of the United States in 1965, Keith Richards suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and recorded a guitar riff on a cassette. He later brought it to the studio where the Stones were recording, and Mick Jagger proceeded to write lyrics for the tune. When “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” was released in May 1965, it gave the Stones’ their first number one hit in the United States. In 2004, the Rolling Stone’s publication panel of judges named “Satisfaction” as the second-greatest song of all time – coming in second to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”

If you could read the thoughts of many tourists and customers, you might hear many of them repeating some of the popular lyrics as they plead: “‘cause I try and I try and I try and I try.” We often hear lip service given to satisfying customers, having guaranteed satisfaction, and other customers first trite phrases that tend to ring hollow on delivery, but what does it really take to give a customer satisfaction?

You need to understand that customers will act in a particular way because their actions will either help bring greater pleasure or alleviate some pain. If a buying experience is positive, customers may return. If an experience is negative, they may not return. The majority of the time their experience is ambivalent, so they just remain in a twilight zone of indifference.

While in Texas, we had a positive experience. We rented a car at Enterprise and we were greeted by Derrick, a friendly man wearing a suit and tie. He not only asked for needed information, but also asked some questions to get to know us better. The first car we looked at had a front tire that looked a little low so he immediately took us to another car that was ready to go. Within a few minutes, we were on our way in a car that was clean and comfortable.

Upon our return we forgot to fill the car before turning it in, and Derrick asked what we thought it would take to fill it up. We told him and he readily agreed. The checkout process was quick and we had 45 minutes to wait for our ride and observe him and other personnel in action. At one point there were five people in line, but when one more person walked through the door, Derrick welcomed them promptly and said that he would be with them as soon as possible.

As each person was finished with paperwork and ready to leave, Derrick would ask this question: “If you are surveyed, could you say that you were absolutely satisfied with our customer service?”

All of them answered “yes.” There was one lady who said yes, but then complained that the car had the smell of cigarette smoke in it. Without missing a beat, Derrick asked, “What can we do to make it up to you?” This seemed to surprise the woman, and she replied that there was nothing she expected, but she just wanted them to be aware of it. Derrick thanked her and hoped her day would be pleasant.

We realized we were watching a customer service pro in action in the way he took care of each transaction. To our left we saw a service trophy where this particular rental agency had qualified each month for the past two years. We’re sure that if customers were surveyed on the phone and asked, “Were you absolutely satisfied with the customer service at this rental agency,” they could easily answer “yes.”

On our next trip to Texas, we’ll be sure to return to where Derrick works because we know we will be treated in a fair, friendly, and responsive manner. Can your customers say the same thing about your service?

Some businesses equate good service with making sure to greet and thank the customer. This is a good start. At one particular business on island it is almost comical to walk in and have up to five workers all chime “good morning” in a canned manner. It’s obvious that management has told them they must greet customers upon entering the store. Even though the words are there the warmth is missing. Another thing missing is that there is practically no service or assistance during the rest of the buying experience.

People who have a better than positive experience may feel that they are getting more from the buying relationship than they put in. This may cause the customer to reciprocate. One act of kindness is paid back with more acts of kindness. Senator Bob Kerry said, “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change. Kindness that catches us by surprise brings out the best in our natures.”

The next time customers visit your organization, will they be able to feel absolutely satisfied or will they feel like one of the Rolling Stones that “can’t get no satisfaction” no matter how hard they try.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com.)