The 3 Cardinal Rules of Customer Experience and LOVE

There are three cardinal rules around delivering exceptional customer experiences that have to do with LOVE… No matter the circumstance, industry sector, business environment, sector of the economy or professional inclination, the rules remain the same. Steadfast and unchanging:-

1.       Love yourself

Yes!  The legendary Dr. Wayne Dyer often used a powerful analogy about squeezing an orange. He’d squeeze an orange at the beginning of his presentation and invite his audience to comment on what they observed coming out. They would invariably shout out ‘orange juice’ with each squeeze, wondering why he would keep repeating the act. The lesson behind this demonstration was that no matter how much you squeezed an orange, only orange juice could come out.  The moral of this story is that we cannot give out what we do not have in the first place.

It is in this very same light that we cannot provide excellent customer experiences and extend love to our customers, if we do not love ourselves first. If we are not truly filled with love for ourselves and express this love inwardly and outwardly with the assurance of self-love, then extending love to others and more so to our customers, is an exercise in futility.

At those moments when customers ‘squeeze’ one to the wall, putting to the test one’s emotions, would love come out in the same way that the orange juice consistently comes out of the orange? The answer can only be yes, if one is full of love, to the extent that no matter how soft or hard the squeezing, it would invariably flow out.

Love yourself to love your customers…………

2.       Love your team

An excerpt from the inspirational poem by John Donne (1573-1631) reads:-

“No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main…..”

And indeed, psychologists world over repeatedly aver that man is a relational creature. Human beings thrive in warm and working relationships and perform at their best when surrounded by colleagues who respect and trust them. No greater teamwork exists, than in an environment where there is open communication, a candid feedback system, reward and recognition for winning behaviour, an encouraging ecosystem and cheer leaders across the hierarchy of leadership. What more elements can be plugged into the definition of love than these? Loving customers comes easy when the environment in which one operates, has a core foundation of team concern and care.

Love your team to love your customers……….

3.       Love your customers

As simple as that – just love your customers. Love them for what they are and what they are not, for without them your work, vocation, career purpose and opportunity to practice your calling is naught.

The trick to this - for it is quite the challenge to love that difficult, nasty, belligerent, cantankerous and offensive customer – is to think not of them but the situation. And to relabel the station as difficult or challenging and not the customer. This helps to divorce the ill feeling toward the person and re-direct it to the conflict that manifests.

Love your customer – just love them………

So there you have it, the three commandments for excellent customer experience. Now go out there and love yourself, your colleagues and ultimately your customers this year!