And the trophy goes to my car dealer for his finesse in giving value to customers and bringing on more of them.
I was recently invited by the dealer of my car, a prominent European brand, for a "ladies service and maintenance workshop", which aims to empower women by inspiring confidence needed to handle car breakdowns and teaching them the best ways to maintain their cars.
I have to say this is a brilliant idea.
The event was informative and fun. We learnt many petrol-head type issues.
We were allowed to check oil and coolant levels, learnt how to change tyres and got to grips with the inner dynamics of an engine.
Satisfied customers
We had lunch and came across many nice people from the company and satisfied customers.
Most importantly, we all left with a newfound sense of high esteem for our dealer, thankful that they had come up with such a fantastic idea.
I am talking about reaching out.
I admit that some of my male colleagues could readily come to terms with the concept, accusing my dealer of pandering to a stereotype.
I even tried arguing that men do understand basics mechanics, while someone like me needed such a workshop. (I still recall how I missed many of the mechanical aspects that were taught during the time I was taking driving lessons).
One has to wonder if it is true that men’s genes come armed with knowledge of all things mechanical while women’s do not? Whenever I ask my 8-year-old nephew what kind of present he wants, I always get the same answer since he was three; cars.
One of my work colleagues said he learnt how to recognise the sound of the engines of different cars from the time when he was just a little boy. Therefore, I assume that mechanics is in the DNA of men.
Nonetheless, not all men. Some men are very bad in handling a breakdown, the same way some women are just as brilliant in happily fixing mechanical failures.
I believe that is why there are companies that provide roadside assistance — to help people like me.
But that was before the workshop I attended.
The session armed me with knowledge and skills that gave me enough confidence to handle basic mechanical failure, change a tyre and schedule preventive maintenance.
Customer loyalty
Initiatives such as these are quite simple to pull off, but greatly boost customer loyalty.
On the other hand, there are other businesses that actually take a nickel-and-dime approach to their customers and keep charging extra for every service offered.
I have had an experience with one of them.
After chasing me with calls for several weeks to visit their place, I finally did. They had opened a branch close to my place and I thoughtit was an excellent opportunity to benefit from their services.
I decided to join but the excitement essentially ended there. The long and short of it, I was left fuming... by the registration fees, the cost for classes, and the like. To make matters worse, if I want the ‘student’ book, I had to pay.
I felt I was taken advantage of. Why I was not told at the very beginning of all the costs I need to pay... when I actually asked about the cost beforehand. Why I was given the information piecemeal?
And you know when you are angry and somebody talks to you in a tone that you know very well they mean something else, it actually blows a fuse in one’s brain.
At one point, I felt the woman on the other side of the phone had actually hung up the phone. I called her again to ask about her action, giving her a lesson she will not forget, I think.
Waiting in vain
Every time I talked to the receptionist or telephone operator, I left a message for the manager, who owns or runs the place to call me.
I waited in vain and got the feeling that I, as a customer, did not matter but was just a number with a dollar sign appended to it.
Because of that nasty experience, I’m left feeling appreciated by my latest car deal.
Next time, whenever I go to check the tyres and the maintenance staff says, “You need to change your tyres. This is dangerous for you to drive”, I will step out of my car, check it myself — now I know how to check — before deciding.
That's customer empowerment.
