As I mentioned yesterday, your customers need to be hearing from you on a regular basis.  I used the example of my mortgage broker from 3 years ago never following up with me.  However, today I saw an even better example.  Matt and I showed up to our chiropractor appointment exactly on time.  Now, we drive out of our way to go to this chiropractor because she utilizes a special tool called the activator that we were introduced to while still living in Muncie that we believe is more effective than normal chiropractic methods.  Anyway, we show up today exactly on time for our 11:00 appointment, planning to be out in 10-15 minutes like normal and go on to our lunch appointment.  Normally it is less than a 5 minute wait to be seen.  Not today.  We sat  in the waiting room until 11:35.

While in the waiting room, not once did the receptionist acknowledge that we had been waiting for a long time.  We were not offered a drink or snack while we waited.  In fact we were not acknowledged at all except when we first came in.  When Matt was finally seen the chiropractor said, “Sorry for the wait,” and then proceeded with his treatment and then my treatment.

On the way out, I had almost forgotten the long wait…until I tried to get the receptionist to put our bill on insurance.  She hemmed and hawwed her way around about how sometimes the insurance co-pay is just as high as the bill.  I happen to know what my copay is and knew that if she turned the bill in I would save $20.  That is why I have insurance.  She kept making a big deal about it, but finally agreed to try to turn it in.

As I walked out the door, my eyes met Matt’s as he waited at the car.  Before I could even tell him what had just happened he said, “I have never left this place in such a bad mood.”  We got into the car and I saw that it was 10 till 12:00.  We were now late for our next appointment.

The entire way there we discussed how they could have made it so that we would not have left in such a bad mood.  (I know, we’re a bit quirky in that way.  We are always critiquing ways that businesses can improve.  It is one of the byproducts of the trade.)  We realized that we weren’t that attached to our chiropractor.  Since November we had both been to her a handful of times.  She was nice and cheery most of the time.  The office was clean.  She had helped our pain.  But yet we both felt that we would be perfectly fine never going back after today.

What could she have done differently?  Never made the mistakes?  Well, yes, but every business is going to have its bad days, as much as we try to combat them.  Some will be our fault and others will be someone else’s.  What she could have done is set the stage so that when that bad experience happened, it didn’t matter when weighed against everything else that she had done right.

For example, our first visit she could have handed us both a new client packet, complete with testimonials, as well as research for why her method of chiropractic care was the best.  She could have then sent a thank you card in the mail with a $5 gift card to Starbucks or to a local coffee shop.  From time to time a printed or emailed newsletter with tips and tricks to keep our back healthy would have been nice.  A Christmas and birthday card would have been great.  On and on it could go until we were completely loyal customers for life who referred others to her again and again.  Finally, when the bad experience happened, a better acknowledgment that something had gone wrong.  Maybe a small discount for the wait.

What if she had done all of this?  Would we have left feeling a little bit better?

Probably.

Up until now I was what you would call neutral about going to see her.  Now, I have a negative connotation and am much less likely to refer to her.

Update July 2009

Okay, so I decided that this post deserved a follow up as the story developed further.  Where I left it was the negative connotation that Matt and I had upon leaving.  Despite this negative feeling, we went back the following month.  Nothing negative happened, but nothing exceptional happened either.

But then, the next month we had a surprise.  We showed up to our appointment, expecting nothing out of the ordinary.  We said hello to the receptionist and began to take our seats.  Suddenly we saw our old chiropractor poke her head through the door.  She was filling in that day for our current chiropractor who was on vacation.  (They have a sort of joint practice, but our old chiropractor mainly sticks to the office that is much further from our house.)

That day as we were leaving Matt and I looked at each other and decided that we were going to find a way in our busy schedules to track across town to go back to our old chiropractor.  We both really like her personality and honestly felt that she did a better job of listening to us, educating us, and that she worked hard at making sure the adjustments she did were working.  The only reason we had switched in the past was because of a schedule conflict that made it difficult for us to make it to her.

However, because of the experience with her partner and the receptionist from that office, we felt that it was worth it to “inconvenience” ourselves with a drive across town.  And let me tell you, we couldn’t be happier.  We both feel that we are seeing greater improvements in our health, and we feel good about spending our money where we feel that we are appreciated.