Everyone knows the story by now.  A passenger, who paid for his ticket, was violently pulled out of his seat and dragged down the aisle to exit the plane.

And for what?  An overbooked flight.

Now United Airlines wishes that this day had never happened.  According to the terms that customers agree to when they pay for a ticket, United (and most airlines) is allowed to deplane select passengers involuntarily after offers have been made have not been accepted by passengers on an overbooked flight.  So United Airlines were just following rules, right?  That may be true in some sense according to their rules BUT, the 'right thing to do" always trumps “rights”.

Regardless if anyone supports one side or the other, it’s a PR nightmare for United and it now wishes that this situation was handled differently.  From here on, the perception of United’s customer service will seem secondary to their zeal to making profits for their shareholders based on the footage the masses are watching right now.  This is why I personally believe in growing relationships with customers instead of focusing on making money only.  Why?  Because when customers know that when my purpose is to care for them and surpass their expectations, money will always follow…and lots of it.

This should be a wake-up call not only for the airline industry but other industries as well, including the automotive industry.  Let’s do some real soul searching.  Were there times where you followed your rights vs. the right thing to do with your customers?  If this question does not apply to you, stop reading right here.

Allow yourself to take inventory of all the times that you may not have done the right thing by your customers in the past several years (hopefully you're still not throwing your customer's keys on the roof).  How many of those customers have come back to do business with you?  Even if some of them did come back to you, if you know deep inside that you did not do right by your customer and you’re still doing it, it’s a disservice to your customer, to your company, and most of all, to yourself.

Customers are the most valuable assets to any company.  A customer should have their Internet lead answered professionally in a timely manner.  A customer should have their questions answered in their emails.  When you promise something to your customer, it should already be done in your mind, followed up with getting it done.  

When they visit your dealership, they should have want for nothing.  Anticipate their needs and wants.  In other words, think several steps ahead of what the customer might want and have it handled before they ask for it (such as 3rd party research).  Why wait for the customer to ask for online reviews and research?  Give it to them up front!  You know they’re going to ask for it anyway!

After they buy the car, call them an hour later to make sure they reached home safely and ask them about their drive-home experience.  Call them periodically during the weeks and months afterward to follow up with them. 

Please don’t ask them if they want to buy a car because you have a sale.  The likelihood that they buy a car when YOU want them to is extremely low. Instead, ask them how their kid’s baseball game went this past weekend, or what they thought about the NBA game the other night, etc.  Remember, this is about growing the relationship.  And of course, take the opportunity to find out who else you could help.

Why wouldn’t they come back and buy from you, a FRIEND in the car business?  There are plenty of “salespeople” out there but people like to buy from people that they know and trust.  What better person to buy from than a friend?

Be the friend that your customers need you to be.  Watch how your business will grow exponentially with money in the bank.

Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewpthomas/.  I would love to get to know you.