{"id":2270,"date":"2009-10-01T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/37d57f8fa2.nxcli.io\/blog\/?p=2270"},"modified":"2009-10-01T06:59:52","modified_gmt":"2009-10-01T11:59:52","slug":"customer-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/customer-service\/customer-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Go the Extra Mile, Get A Customer For Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

How far should you go for your customers? See how one family-run small business has kept a customer for life.<\/p>\n

It was 4:45 p.m. on a warm Friday afternoon in Traverse City, Michigan. The owner of Ferguson Lawn Supplies and Equipment, Ken Ferguson, and his son Chuck, were just about ready to close for the day. The phone rang and as Chuck answered it, he was greeted by a very desperate voice. <\/p>\n

It was Bob Jenkins, the general manager of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, one of their customers. The reason for his call to Ferguson Lawn Supplies and Equipment was that they had a very big problem. As Bob Jenkins explained, the Grand Hotel was getting ready for a very prestigious golf tournament that was scheduled to start the next morning.<\/p>\n

Their one and only Jacob\u00adson greens mower, the one that they used to trim the putting green on each hole of the course, had broken down. A few of the spring-loaded spreader fingers that actuated the pressure plate of the clutch assembly had been shattered. The golf course needed to have it repaired immediately, because the greens had to be mowed the next morning at 5:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

In the extremely competitive business of lawn supplies and equipment, the Fergusons had a large area to cover. It included the upper half of the state of Michigan and the upper peninsula. Mackinaw City was 110 miles away, not including the ferry boat ride across the straits to the island. In addition to that, no motorized cars or trucks were allowed on the vacation island. It was going to take a minimum of four hours for them to reach the golf course via service truck. Chuck knew they needed to act fast if they were going to help solve this dilemma.<\/p>\n

After briefly conferring with his dad, Chuck asked Bob Jenkins if he could have the mower loaded onto a horse-drawn wagon and hauled over to the small airport that was located on Mackinac Island. The general manager answered yes, but asked Chuck to explain. Chuck replied that in an emergency like this, the Fergusons could use their family airplane to fly the repairman with the parts necessary to repair the mower.<\/p>\n

After Chuck hung up the phone, he quickly called down to Larry, his top mechanic, to see if he would be willing to work a little overtime. Larry eagerly agreed. As an extra measure of service<\/a>, they decided to pull out the back seat of the airplane and load up a brand new Jacobson greens mower to take along as a loaner. Chuck and Larry took off, and when they landed, they were greeted by a very worried Bob Jenkins.<\/p>\n

Chuck\u2019s mechanic, impeccably dressed in his dark blue uniform, shining tool box in hand, went right to work on the disabled mower. It was repaired within 15 minutes. Bob was ecstatic. Then, in a grand gesture, Chuck and his mechanic unloaded the brand new Jacobson greens mower. They ex\u00adplained that they wanted to leave it as a backup (free of charge) just in case anything else went wrong with the repaired mower. They would pick up the loaner on the next service call.<\/p>\n

The general manager was more than satisfied. The next morning, the greens were mowed and the players commented on how beau\u00adtiful the golf course looked. The prestigious golf tournament was a success. As it turns out, the brand new Jacobson greens mower never left the island. The general manager thought it would be a good idea to have a back- up<\/a> mower just in case they ever needed it again.<\/p>\n

The story doesn\u2019t end there. A few months later, Ken Ferguson and his son attended the Annual Turf Grass Conference at Michigan State University. As they were sitting at their table finishing their dinner, one of their main competitors walked over and said, \u201cKen, I don\u2019t know how you do it. I don\u2019t know how you keep the Grand Hotel golf course account.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been calling on that place for years. We buy that general manager the best steaks, bring him the finest scotch, and we still can\u2019t get any of his business! How do you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ken Ferguson looked up at him and replied \u201cUhh, I don\u2019t know, it sounds like you\u2019re doing everything right to me. I wouldn\u2019t change a thing.\u201d Through this lesson, the message is clear. By going the extra mile for our customers, by being there when they need us, we will keep them as loyal customers<\/a> for a long, long time.<\/p>\n

– Tom<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Tom Borg<\/a><\/strong>
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