Business Coach: Journey from Buyer to Big Fun

 In this business coach transcript, Arthur Greeno (Two-time Guinness World Record Holder) and Clay Clark (Speaker of Choice for O’Reilly Auto Parts and Hewlett Packard) use Thrive15.com, one of the top business schools in PA, as a platform to discuss the Journey from a buyer to big fun.

Clay:    They call Clay Clark. And I’m the Visioneer of business coach program Thrive15.com. Today we are joined by Arthur Greeno and we’re going to be teaching how to take customers from buyers to big fans. In today’s lesson, we’re going to learn how to take transactions, and transactional customers and turn these into apostles. And people that are out there, all around your community telling people what a great business you have.

Which will grow your business and will grow your wallet. Remember at business coach Thrive15.com, we believe that knowledge without application is meaningless. So as you’re watching today’s episode, ask yourself, “What action steps can you uniquely apply in your life and business today?” Otherwise, today’s episode maybe more meaningless than a broken paper weight.

All right, well Arthur, full disclosure, today’s episode might be sponsored by DayQuil. I had enough DayQuil to kill a small horse. But I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good. What we’re talking today, we’re talking about today is the journey from buyer to big fans. For anyone working in the area of customer service, the whole goal is to wow the customer. The whole goal is to wow the customer.

Arthur:    Right.

Clay:    To the point that they actually come back and bring some friends. Yet, few businesses today seem to be able to accomplish this. I’m going to read you [something 00:01:33] here, from the book Raving Fans by business coach Ken Blanchard and his partner there it says, “Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better. Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans.” Thrive15.com, one of the top business schools in PA, can help you create a successful business.

So in your mind, why do most businesses simply produce merely satisfied customers. You know as a Chick-fil-A guy, who tries to wow customers everyday. Why are most businesses out there just merely satisfying customers? I your mind.

Arthur:    Well, I think a lot of it is just, it’s easy. It’s easy to just satisfy customers. They’re just taking care of their basic needs. Sadly that’s how it is. But yet, and that’s why there are businesses functioning at an average level.

Clay:    Well now, one of the things I’ve noticed that Chick-Fil-A and since I’ve known you, I think I’m like really, I thought I was a Kool-Aid drinker for Chick-Fil-A, but a lot of times what you noticed somebody works at a restaurant you’re like, “Well, I’ve never go there.” And after you hear about the stuff that happens behind the scene, you kind of go, “I would never go back to that place.”

Well Chick-Fil-A the more I hear about what happens behind the scenes, the more I want to come back. There’s a lot of things that you guys do as a business coach program that’s different, so I’m going to read you off some kind of businesses that are known for standardized mediocrity. And if there is any other services that you can think of, just let me know.

But one is we have the gas station, restaurant truck stop, gift shop. That one, you know where you go, it’s the hybrid there. Then you have the tag agency, it seems like every tag agency in America is pretty rough all the time.

Then you have the motel, you’ve got the cable company where you call and they say, “Well call you back some time between nine and five if you could just wait by your house, we’ll send somebody by today between nine and five.” You got lawn care, the contractor, you’ve got the disc jockey, you might not know if they’re going show up for the party or not. And then you have the fast food industry. So why is it–

Arthur:    Are we at the bottom of that– We’re at the bottom of that list.

Clay:    Yeah. So is there any other industries that you can think of in your mind that are kind of every time you call them you’re expecting some sort level of mediocrity?

Arthur:    I guess I should have study beforehand, huh?

Clay:    You will. I mean is there any other services that you can think of that just frustrate you? Like the sign companies, I’ve noticed that I cannot get a sign company to call back at a decent speed there.

Arthur:    Car repair places.

Clay:    Car repair places. So let’s pretend for a second that you’re another restaurant owner. You’ve got a lot of competitors in the fast food industry.

Arthur:    Right.

Clay:    Why are those people not wowing people the way Chick-Fil-A does? What’s going on?

Arthur:    For me I think the root is they don’t care. They really don’t care. And a lot of the fast food industry, Chick-Fil-A is so different than them because they have owner operators that are in the restaurant.

I mean, you know when, if a customer doesn’t eat with Chick-Fil-A, it’s not just about Chick-Fil-A, it’s about my, it affects me, it affects my profit, my families profit. I mean not a good way to say it, but yeah, but that’s kind of how it works.

Clay:    Let me ask you this though. This is what I’m going to ask you, I’m just questioning your, for the guy watching this who might be a Devil’s Advocate sort of thing. I know a lot of people that own a restaurant. Their whole families livelihood is based upon the profitability of the restaurant.

Yet their restaurant still stinks and that’s over, that’s not even mean enough really. So what accountability system does Chick-Fil-A have, do you have in place and sure that you and your store or other store owners don’t kind of get down to that level of mediocrity? What systems do you have in place to make sure that your at a high standard?

Arthur:    Sure. Well, you know when it’s coming to customer service, it really starts with at the top. What is your leaders doing? What are they paying attention to? And what are the expectations? It’s really about what the expectations are.

And so for us, I don’t look at myself and say, “I’m competing against the other Chick-Fil-A stores or other fast food places. I’m competing against myself. Is this the best I can do? Is this the best my leadership can do?”

But unfortunately, I think a lot of people, they’ve reached the pinnacle when they’ve, “I have a restaurant. Woohoo! Okay, now I can relax. Now the money is going to come rolling in.”

Clay:    Okay.

Arthur:    They just sit back and that’s not the–

Clay:    Do you get a pressure from corporate to do a great job?

Arthur:    Absolutely.

Clay:    Okay.

Arthur:    Chick-Fil-A is a phenomenal company, and they not only expect us to do a good job, but it’s a requirement. They actually will look at what other stores are doing. So if my customer service is lacking, but the store right next to me is not lacking, they’re going to say “Hey, how come he can do it right?” and probably make me get a business coach.