Show you care, for customers notice

Providing the personal touch goes an awfully long way when it comes to keeping them satisfied

If one of a house’s pillars fall, soon enough the others will follow. When it comes to businesses, it is not that different. Attention to details is the glue that holds everything together. Not only will it distinguish a business from the rest of the crowd, but it will also portray that it genuinely cares about its customers.

What many businesses might take for granted is that customers actually do pay a lot of attention to details, and their perception of it is what makes some favour one business over the other. What I came to find out is that there is a strong relationship between attention to details and big customer concerns; the more attention to details, the more competent a business is in dealing with big concerns.

For instance if a customer approached a business that does not provide a customer service hotline, that might indicate that they do not really care about customers’ suggestions or concerns. Or say if you go to a restaurant’s bathroom that is filthy and the soap dispenser is not refilled, that will make you wonder how things are back in the kitchen.

Let me provide you with an incident closer to home. A while back I fell a bit sick, and my friends who have suffered from poor customer care by some of the service providers in the city encouraged me to take some time off and go for a check-up abroad. “I don’t care what is wrong with me, I will be on the first plane out if I even got remotely sick,” said one of my friends.

I overlooked my friends’ suggestions and decided to visit a popular clinic in Abu Dhabi. The minute I walked in to the doctor and explained my situation, she told me it must be because of the change of weather and I should swallow a couple of painkillers. There were many patients waiting outside, and I felt like I was being rushed. I stayed at her office for a total of five minutes. As a customer, I did not appreciate the service but decided to go ahead with her suggestion for now since I had a lot on my plate to work on.

Two days later, and following her instructions, my condition worsened. I knew better not to go back to that clinic, and I swore never to again, and so I visited one of the newest private hospitals in the city. What caught my attention, was unlike other health providers who were equally busy, each patient sat an average of 30 minutes at the doctor’s office. I was feeling a little bit impatient, but decided to wait regardless.

About an hour later, I was escorted to the office. The minute I walked in, I felt like I was seated at an interrogation chair. The doctor did a thorough background check of what I was doing for the past month. He asked me questions that I thought were irrelevant to my condition, but turned out otherwise later. He asked for numerous tests to be done and did a thorough examination. Before leaving his office he also provided me with his private mobile number and said that I could reach him any time afterwards, if I had any concerns. And I did: a couple of days later I gave him a call to update him about my condition, and he returned my call shortly after.

I have to say that his genuine concern, thorough check-up and the hospital’s exceptional customer care service is what makes me favour it now instead of travelling abroad for a check-up – an option that my family and friends constantly favoured.

Living in a country like the UAE, we are blessed to be provided with countless options of businesses and service to choose from. Sure, many times as in the case of my hospital incident the bad examples of a certain sector dwarfs the good, and that makes people negatively stereotype the whole sector.

Owning a business is not just about launching a product and selling it. No, there is a long way to go from there. What great companies do is pay extra attention to details.

What could you do as a business owner? Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Try dealing with your own business in disguise and see how you are being treated. Ask your customers for constant feedback and build on it. If a customer comes to you with a suggestion/concern reward them, acknowledge their effort, and update them when the issue is fixed.

At the end of the day, it is all about the little things. The details can make a huge difference in both your profit margins and your customers’ loyalty.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and fashion designer. Follow her on Twitter: @manar_alhinai