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I really miss the days when my hometown banker knew me by name and just seemed genuinely delighted to have my measly few hundred dollars temporarily slumbering in his bank vault.  Always a friendly greeting, a fresh, hot cup of java, some cheesy give-aways (I recently ran across one of those squeeze plastic coin holders with "People's State Bank–The Friendly Bank" plastered all over the back…made me smile from ear to ear).  Any time I walked through those bank doors, I felt wanted and important, like the employees' day wasn't complete until I entered the building.

Ah…Customer Service.  Has it become a phrase of only historical significance?  When did the customer cease to be king?  Why has the customer become merely a conspicuous consumer and no longer a special "family friend"?

Please forgive me as I blow off a bit of steam here, but I think I've just had an epiphany as to why our country is experiencing arguably the worst economic downturn in modern history.  And it has everything to do with the golden rule.  No, not the twisted one ("He who holds the gold, makes the rules").  The profound one, the one you've known since you were a child, and, if you're honest, still rings loudly in your ears with ultimate truth:  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  Somewhere along the way, we have, in life and in business, abandoned common courtesy, and even worse, we lost sight of the reality that the core of value is core values, positive principles that still matter today, as they have throughout human history.  Perhaps, even more.

So a few days ago as I'm going through my bank records with various financial institutions, I run across a statement from an account that I've let sit fairly dormant for a few months, due to some pressing family health situations.  Much to my surprise, although I left over a hundred dollars in the account, it showed to be in the negative balance, a position I work diligently to avoid and take great pride in never occupying.  As I examine the paperwork more closely, I note that several months back, the bank had begun charging a monthly fee, which over time had caused my account to go in the hole.

Being a take-action sort of woman, I grab my documentation firmly in hand and set off on a mission to explain my case to my local "personal banker".  I interrupt my day, with the hundred item to-do list, most in the "urgent" column, to make a special trip to an actual physical office with a real live person.

Mind you, I actually begin my journey with a positive mindset, having only the day before received one of the nicer customer experiences at a rival financial institution that I have encountered in years.  With that bank, I had noticed some minor glitches with my account,so  I stopped by my local branch yesterday to try to get assistance.  Daniel, my one-to-one banker, saw me walk through the door and immediately jumped up to give me a warm hug.  Genuinely concerned to correct the situation, after gathering my information, Daniel briefly left me at his desk to obtain the approval to reverse the error.  As I sat waiting for him to return, I glanced to Daniel's computer monitor that was angled my direction.  And there were the three words that made my day.

"High Value Customer"

Directly over my name.  Those three words.  Applied to me.  How cool was that?! 

And an amazing thing happened in that moment.  Suddenly, I sat a little taller in my seat.  If I'm not mistaken, little "sparklies" were shooting from my body.  As Daniel introduced me to the bank Vice President Chris, who shook my hand firmly and thanked me for my business (and profusely apologized for my inconvenience), the entire corporation took on a heroic stature in my mind.  And when I got up to leave after Daniel resolved my problem with a smile and sincere apology, darned if I didn't have a swagger in my walk as I left the building.

After all, I was a "High Value Customer"!

Now we cut to my experience the following day.  After waiting an excruciating 30 minutes to even be seated, I finally was given an audience with one of the banking assistants.  I explained my personal situation, including multiple family hospitalizations that had commanded my attention in recent months.  I also emphasized that when I opened the account, I was assured that there would be no fees attached whatsoever.  The woman explained, while reviewing her computer screen, that the bank had changed their policies some months back, which had been explained in a detailed notice that was mailed to my address.

When I queried her as to why no one mentioned the declining balance or changed policies when I had visited the bank weeks earlier and they were frantically trying to get me to borrow money through them, she explained that it really wasn't their job to contact the customer directly with that kind of information.  "Really, I asked, no courtesy call or even a computer-generated notice after low account activity?"  No, she replied, we really just have way too many customers for that kind of personal attention.

Fine, then.  With their corporate culture clearly explained, my next item of business was to request a refund of the fees, based on the family situation and my long-standing impeccable record of doing business with them.  As a business owner myself, I felt this was a reasonable request, and would probably do business elsewhere if the bank didn't agree with this philosophy.

That would require supervisor approval, came the reply.

"I'll wait."

After another 15 minute time span, the employee returned, and explained that the manager had approved refunding half of the money, but not the full amount.  I never saw or spoke to the manager.  Weary of the encounter (I had now been there almost an hour and a half), I accepted the offer.

Moments later, I returned and closed the account, as well as multiple other accounts at the same facility.  And promptly deposited all the monies in the other bank.  All over a measly 50 bucks in bank fees…and the principle of the thing.

So what, you might ask.  Just a one-time experience, what does it really matter? 

Guess what?  It's not just hyper-sensitivity on my part.  My hurt feelings, your customer's experience with your brand, is the deal maker or breaker for your business.  In the new Relationship Economy, a superior service experience is the single item that can set you apart from your competition and guarantee your business success.

The latest research by experts on the customer experience scorecard reveals that the quality of the customer service experience now ties the quality of the product that the company sells as the top competitive differentiators, both at 27 percent. The price of the product was rated by consumers at 24 percent, with brand name and corporate reputation trailing considerably, at 9 percent each.

Failure to provide the desired service experience could result in customer attrition and loss of important customer feedback to drive product innovation and service improvements. The proprietary study also showed that 17 percent of all interactions result in customers leaving and of those, 40 percent do so without any feedback to the company.

Bottom Line:  YOU & your treatment of your customer is the “Secret Sauce”, the difference between them eagerly embracing your recommendations & input as valuable and even critical to improving their life quality, or rejecting your advice and continuing in a life of “quiet desperation”.

Here's the interesting "rest of the story" in my "Tale of Two Banks".  Care to venture a guess which bank had more of my money at the time this drama unfolded?  By a large margin, at that moment I actually had significantly more cash (in various accounts) deposited at the facility that "had too many customers for personal attention". 

So, on the balance sheet, I was actually worth less to the bank that had me categorized as "High Value".  Yet, they had the culture and character to treat me, in the moment, as the heartbeat of their business, a worthy human being, regardless of my total in their vault. 

Kudos to you, JP Morgan Chase, (and Daniel and Chris) for giving me that small-town customer goodwill, despite your mammoth size. 

If I were to experience your business, how would I feel?  Will I be a statistic on your sales sheet, or will I walk away from the encounter feeling better about myself because of how you treated me? 

And does it really matter that I walk through your "door" in cyberspace, instead of physically?  Or does that actually up the ante, and challenge you to think deeper about how to let me know, as I browse through your webspace, that you appreciate that I took the time to stop by?

How can you change your business operations TODAY, to let your customers know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are HIGH VALUE to you?  What can we do, through our business influence, to restore values to value?

I would love to know your thoughts on how business can contribute goodness through stunning customer service.  Please share your ideas and reflections below, and know that you are valued here!