It's the Little Things!

My trainer is always better with caffeine in hand, so I was motivated to find her coffee. I stopped at a little Ma and Pa gas station - the fourth place I'd tried. The others were out of brew and too busy to make more on this particular morning.

The pot was empty here too - what are the chances? As I turned to leave the owner stopped me - offered to make a fresh pot. It wouldn't take 5 minutes, while I was waiting he'd run my truck through the car wash for free. Thelma (my F-250) was definitely due for a bath - so why not?

I paid for the coffee and asked for a key to the restroom. Inside were fresh flowers, a beautiful picture of a woman in a field of wildflowers, girlie soap, clean and smelling so sweet. What an unexpected delight!

A smiling teenager, holding a big soapy mop, met me at the entrance to the car wash. She scrubbed Thelma front to back. I'd expected a quick run through the auto-wash. Instead I was getting the works! All because of a cup of coffee? When the wash was over I tried to tip her as she dried the windows - she declined with a big smile. All part of her job.

The owner had the coffee poured and waiting. I complimented him on his service and he grinned like a proud dad. "I can't beat the big name prices - but I can sure beat their service. I do little things for my customers, and hopefully they see their way to come back."

As I drove out I looked at his gas prices. They were five cents more than the big guys. Yet his pumps were full - while the big name station across the street looked pretty lonely.

There's a lesson here.

Many are cutting back service and the smiles that go with it - forgetting our customer's experience. This SMB owner is bucking that trend in a highly price competitive market. Thanks to his customer focus and the personal touches he shares, he's getting a slight premium price and outselling the bigger competition hands down.

The next time we start cutting price to match the competition, slimming services to make up for the lost margin - maybe we should think again.

Could little things make the customer difference?