If you want customer service to boost your business, it needs to stand out from the herd. And one place that does stand out from the rest is a game farm. I heard about this particular venue from a friend of mine. It’s a place an hour and a half outside Joburg. It doesn’t have the entire Big Five, but what they lack in leopards and rhinos, they make up for in awesome service.
My friend’s colleague was getting married, so her friends decided a bachelorette weekend away would be a great way to send her off on her marriage journey and also have a great last blast with her mates.
They made the booking online — for eight women — and eagerly looked forward to the big day. Little did they know that the event was going to start long before they even arrived on the game farm.
Be proactive about your customer service
A lady named Yvette contacted my friend about two weeks before they were due to arrive, and asked about their booking. Since it was for a group of women, she suspected it was for a special occasion. Did she mind telling her a bit more about it? My friend had no problem with this, and soon she and Yvette were closely involved in planning the bachelorette weekend.
Yvette found out what the bride’s food and drink preferences were, whether she was sporty, or more of a chilled type; she sourced an album of photos of her and her friends, then created a photo wall at the game farm so they could have a nostalgic weekend reliving their good times.
The bride is a bit of a tomboy, so they spent the days riding quadbikes, trying archery and clay-pigeon shooting. They had a blast! This wasn’t just good customer service, it was awesome service.
Customer service principles to help your business succeed
While gun-play is not recommended for most forms of customer service, you can adapt these principles for your business.
- How can you be proactive, gauge your customers’ needs before they even arrive?
- How can you tailor a bespoke experience for every client?
- And how can you blow them away with something special they might never have experienced before?
Service Tip: The story of the game-farm bachelorette weekend is so memorable that all the guests were telling their friends about it afterwards. Great customer service is the kind that makes you want to tell others about it immediately. If you want your customers to remark on your service, be remarkable.
The key to next-level service
Consider the four characteristics that made Yvette’s service so exceptional in the article:
- It was proactive. Yvette started organising ahead of time, not just when the guests arrived.
- It was customised. This wasn’t some one-size-fits-all weekend offering. It was tailored to the guests’ personal tastes.
- It was personal. Yvette herself took ownership of the project and stayed involved all the way through.
- It had a wow factor. Quadbiking and clay pigeon shooting are exhilarating activities that are bound to make a strong impression.
Charge more for better service
If you give the customer a great experience, she will be prepared to pay more. You can do the same if you get your customer service to the premium level.
There are some brands that can charge more because they provide a service experience that customers value:
- Apple
- Rolls-Royce
- Hilton
- Louis Vuitton
- Hermes
- Hard Rock Café
- Bang & Olufsen
- Discovery.