There's a saying in Retail that to deliver first class, 5 star customer service creates a problem; i.e. each time the customer receives fab treatment, they just expect more and better next time. This is known as "Expectation Inflation".
This newly created level of expectation may be a hazard but it's a good problem to have if it results in happy customers, fulfilled staff and a strong business reputation. It's also good for ensuring you keep your business growing, improving, staying ahead and don't rest on your proverbial "Laurels"!
With Expectation Inflation everyone wins; you the business owner, your staff and your customers. New products and services are invented and the overall market place grows and prospers.
As a Corporate Trainer who delivers customer service programmes, I often think about how the Equine world could learn a valuable lesson or two from business, retailers and at the end of the day... CUSTOMERS! Customer like you and I!
When it comes to customer service, it looks to me like many Equine trainers, transporters, horse dealers and yard managers fail to even realise that one of their job responsibilities is to deliver customer service - 5 star or basic!
As a hard working quick to pay my livery bills customer, sadly I have to confess that I have rarely felt valued or treated like a customer within the horse world.
Even when I was paying £2300 a month in livery fees, which amounted to over £89,000 over the 3 years and 8 months that I was at a specific yard, the feeling of being a valued customer was far from my lexicon. Whether we feel valued or not will impact our perception of 'value for money'.
If my horses care and lifestyle ends up compromised it's easy for me to conclude that the 'value for money' ratio isn't there anymore, and my herd and I move on...
The sad truth is that many of us have been on the receiving end of poor or non existent service for our equines. For example, trainers who treat every horse and pupil the same; transporters who pay no attention to how the horse is coping with travel. Solar came back from the USA in 2002 pumping blood from a hind leg that the International (very well known) transporter hadn't even noticed!
This can not be right. When a business transaction is in play, contracts in place, and money (often more than our monthly mortgage) is exchanged - it is in return for a decent level of service and some attention to detail!
The situation surely must change in the future and the horse world must become more customer savvy instead of apathetic - given the speed with which reputations can be made or broken, through vehicles such as social media.
Just think of all the ways people can be talking about us and what we do and how we do it -
most of the time without us even knowing!
most of the time without us even knowing!
It doesn't matter how many horses you have, or how much income you contribute to a yard or a trainer, the point is its business. As such you should get what you expect and or need. If you are willing to pay for that service, that service should be delivered, every day, consistently and willingly.
Occasionally we should also expect to have our expectations exceeded in small, delightful ways!
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| An 'add on free service' at West View Livery - field body scratching for Grace! |
Grace getting a dawn body scratch -
not listed in the livery service list but willingly offered anyway!
Just as in business, service is not just about providing value for money, or a minimum standard of service. What makes the difference between 'apathetic, fickle, disloyal customers' who hop from trainer to trainer, yard to yard, and those who loyally stay and provide 'great testimonials' rests on some of the following ...
- team work,
- emotional support and care,
- attention to detail,
- speed with follow through,
- responsive communication - keeping customers informed,
- compromise and flexing to try to meet customer needs,
- high standards, consistently executed
- listening to customers,
- asking customers for their feedback and responding to that feedback,
- benchmarking your offering (service, products and price) in the market place,
- handling conflict quickly,
- managing expectations of customers with honesty,
- trustworthiness,
- proactively address needs (going the extra mile and pre-empting customer needs)
- integrity in actions i.e. doing the right thing for the customer/horse,
- surprising and delighting the customer with the 'unexpected'
- caring,
- having more than one way to explain things,
- emotional self control and resilience,
It may sound like a heavy list, on top of hours of teaching, daily mucking out, rug changing, feet picking out and generally looking after horses all day. But bottom line is that if the paying humans needs (aka customer's needs) are ignored, marginalised, overlooked or resisted, they'll pull their business or horses from your yard quicker than you can say "there's no I in Team" - taking with them their hard earned cash and your income!
Bottom line advise for any equine business man or women is:
Happy Horses = Happy Humans
Happy Humans = Happy Yard
Happy Yard = Happy Yard Manager
Happy Yard Manager = Happy Horses + Happy Humans
and on and on the cycle of success will grow!
Ta Da!
Happy Humans = Happy Yard
Happy Yard = Happy Yard Manager
Happy Yard Manager = Happy Horses + Happy Humans
and on and on the cycle of success will grow!
Ta Da!
No one said running a business (equine or other) is easy. If you are running a business and offering a service, you really have to be clear on 'why'? Why are you doing it? What is your passion? What motivates you? How will you build your business? What role does customer feedback play in your future success? What do you want to be known for? What are you good at and not so good at - and play to your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Finally, what would you do without being paid to do it?
In business I teach people to 'stick to their knitting'!
Put simply this means that if teaching or horse training is your goal, stick to doing that. If caring for horses floats your boat - do that, and do it well. If you believe you can do both, great, but you're customers will have different needs and expectations from you for both sets of services, so you'll have to be exemplary in delivering customer service to meet all their needs.
That all takes a lot of work, self awareness and personal growth.
The most important customer feedback mechanism isn't facebook or twitter. Its in front of you as a trainer, or proprietor, it's the health, joy, relaxation and expression you see in the face and body of the horse in front of you.
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| Essy (left) and Solar (right) taking turns to snooze in the early morning sun |
And, if the human pupil, owner, carer or sharer walks on air every time they are with their horse - I'd say it's all the feedback you need. Whoever you are, whatever your job title!
A tip: Ask yourself and your trainer or yard manager "at the end of the day, how do you know if it's been a good day or a bad day?" Then compare your answers with theirs, and see if there are any signs of a customer centric focus? It's the least you and your horse deserve no matter what your knowledge level, riding ability or number of horses owned!
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