Great News: I Won’t Put on Heels and Buy You Dinner!

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Our Customer Service Philosophy

[Important Note from Clay]: This was written is by my business partner, Tracy.

I once worked for a high precision electronics company. Our customers were huge corporations that you would instantly recognize if I named them. My degree was in electronics and I originally was brought on to work on the equipment, but quickly ended up running the entire customer service department because I cared. Deeply. About. Our. Customers.

The problem, though, was the president’s idea of great customer service was radically different from mine. I was fooled, at first, because they sent me overseas for a month to visit the facility where the equipment was made. They wanted me to understand their operation from the ground up so I’d have a thorough grasp on every part of the company. That impressed me.

However.

When I got back to the States my “work” began. Here’s what it consisted of:

A customer would call in, unhappy with something. It could be the precision of the equipment or a calibration issue or slow delivery times. If it was an issue that tech support or production could not quickly handle, they were funneled over to me. Once I verified the issue was nothing our company could quickly rectify here’s what I did: Got on a plane, flew to their facility, met with all the “big-shots” at the “top,” took a tour of their facility, and then put on a cocktail dress and heels and took them out to dinner at an expensive restaurant.

That’s it.

Pathetic.

The whole point of the trip was to wine them and dine them, to chat them up so they’d feel good about our company and believe we actually cared, then fly home the next day only to find that our company wouldn’t do anything about their problem.

These customers had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on our equipment, often millions, and the best we offered them was a night out on the town to show them we “cared.” It didn’t solve their problem or cause our company to change our policies or our processes. That’s what I call terrible customer service.

I didn’t stay very long with that company.

That experience is why when I came on board with Clay it was important to me to clearly define my vision for customer service. My philosophy is ridiculously simple: I want to treat our customers the way I want to be treated.

Since I adore fabulous customer service, I have a fierce determination to provide it to others and insist that our entire team take the same approach.

I’ve bought too many online courses only to end up with horrendous customer service. I don’t want even a single person to ever have an experience like that with us.

I want to provide epic, stupendous, stellar customer service. This desire translates into looking like this:

• GIVE. We commit to giving our customers all that we’ve promised and whenever possible, far more.

• RESPOND. If a customer sends us a support email, they deserve a response—the same day if at all possible, the very next day at the latest. Always within 24 hours.

• LISTEN. We take all feedback seriously and look at it to see if there are ways we can improve what we do and how we do it.

• APOLOGIZE. If we make a mistake (oh, how I long for perfection!), we own it, apologize for it, and then see what we can do to make things right.

• CONSIDER. We consider every request. Sometimes we have to say no, but we always seriously consider each request to see if it’s possible for us to fulfill it.

• HONESTY. Sometimes a customer will ask us for something we simply cannot do. In that situation, we will be honest and direct and give an explanation for why we cannot fulfill their request.

• RESPECT. Every customer deserves to be treated with respect. I’m really big on always upholding the dignity of every person. Even the extremely rare disrespectful customer will get a respectful, friendly email in return.

• ANTICIPATE. We try to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers and anticipate what their needs might be and how we could best meet them. We’re always looking for ways to improve everything we offer.

• COMPASSION. We keep in mind that what is obvious to us may not be obvious to someone new to our market, and we keep compassion alive in our hearts to best help them navigate this new territory.

• BELIEVE. We believe in our customers’ dreams and abilities, and see, really see, what they have to offer the world. This keeps us motivated to support them in the best way we possible can.

That’s it. If we follow the above 10 live-it-from-our-heart guidelines, we can make most of our customers very happy. We don’t do it perfectly, but we’re constantly seeking to improve.

You have my word that I’ll never put on heels and a cocktail dress and “take you out to dinner” to “solve” your customer support issue.

Let me close with just a few of the many comments our team has received over the years from our happy customers:

You guys have been exemplary in your support–responsive every time! Real businesses either *really* care or they don’t. YOU, my dear, do. May all that you share come right back to you!
~A.W.

As usual, terrific support and response. You provide the most generous, smart, prompt, courteous customer service I’ve *ever* experienced in the internet/online marketing industry, and I’ve bought a *lot* of these types of products and services. You are one of the primary reasons I’m such a big fan of Clay’s work! Your supportive/loving spirit comes through in your emails and makes such a difference!!
~G.K.

Great customer service. I was in one other program and saw the opposite occur so really appreciate your efforts and professionalism.
~M.J.

Wow, thanks for the best customer service I’ve received in, like, EVER!
~M.V.

I was saying to [one of my clients], who has unfortunately felt cheated by other internet marketing coaching programs, that your program is different, and has the best customer support I’ve ever experienced. Well, you proved that point right, yet again!

~G.K.

To read many more raves from our customers, head over here.

Lynda and I are here to serve you in whatever way we can—and we genuinely delight in doing so.

Lynda

Tracy

*Full Disclosure: I’ve never had legs like the ones pictured at the top of this post. My legs look more like a flamingo’s stems.

However, I have had shoes like the ones in the picture, and I adored them and wore them to death. Now you know the whole truth about me, my flamingo-like legs, my pretty pink shoes, and my passion for great customer service.

Need to contact us for support? Shoot us an email and we’ll get right back to you: support [at] ave81.zendesk.com