Creating Business Practices That Support Longevity and Success

Chapter One Legal Practices to Protect Your Company and Your Customers

In 2000, Heinz ketchup was sued for having just 1% less ketchup in their bottles than their disclosure stated. In the end, the lawsuit cost them over a million dollars – And they were required to add extra ketchup into their bottles for a year.

The reason? Because part of their ketchup evaporates very slightly over time.

Make sure when you're disclosing your terms that you're accurate in exactly what the consumer is getting.

Customer Service

Customer services practices can make or break you. When your practices are established to clearly and completely communicate all customer service policies and procedures, it's much easier for your customer to have an enjoyable experience. And you don't have to spend your valuable time problem solving.

A comprehensive customer service practice will likely include:

· A source of frequently asked questions found online

· A contact number or email address so that customers can quickly get in touch with a provider

· A statement about the customer service system so customers know what to expect.

How you handle your customer service will depend largely on your business model, your budget and your personal preferences. You can certainly outsource your customer service. You can automate it. Or you can manage it yourself if you like to have a personal connection to your customers.

Your system, regardless of how you set it up, should support you to be:

· Honorable and compliant with all of the commitments and promises made to your customer.

· Clear and effective. Your customer service system should be easy for your customers to understand and follow.

· Timely. No one wants to wait more than 24 hours for an answer.

· Fair. The customer isn't always right but there's always a fair and reasonable solution. The BBB advises "In the event the customer's complaint cannot be resolved, online merchants shall also offer a fair method for resolving differences with regard to a transaction by offering either an unconditional money-back guarantee or third-party dispute resolution."

There used to be a saying in business: "A satisfied customer will usually tell one to three of their friends. A dissatisfied customer will tell ten people about their experience."

Today, in the age of the internet, that's no longer true. One dissatisfied customer can reach thousands, even millions of people in just an instant. The same is true of a satisfied customer.

A customer once tried to call into AOL to cancel his internet subscription. Instead of letting him cancel, the representatives ran him around many different hoops and even downright refused to let him cancel.

He recorded the whole call and published it on the internet. That call and the subsequent news articles generated from that call reached hundreds of thousands of people.

It was a PR nightmare that cost AOL far more money than the man's $20 a month.

A counter example: A southwest airlines stewardess accidentally spilled a cup of coffee on a customer's suit jacket. After profusely apologizing, a male crew member offered to lend the customer his suit jacket while they dry cleaned his suit for him.

The customer couldn't believe it – This man he didn't know was willing to lend him his personal jacket while they dry cleaned his jacket for him, even though he wasn't the one that spilled the drink.