Shep Hyken
P r o f e s s i o n a l S p e a k e r
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The Dangerous Customer
by Shep Hyken, CSP
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What is a dangerous customer? It is not necessarily a customer that is threatening you with a knife or a
gun. (That is not just a dangerous customer, but a dangerous person.) What we are discussing in this
article is the customer that puts you into the “danger zone” of lost business. We aren’t talking about
customers who have a complaint about you and choose to tell everyone they know. We are talking
about that potentially very dangerous type of customer, a “satisfied” customer.
But wait! How can we be in danger of losing a satisfied customer?
Recently, two professors, Anthony J. Zahorak and Roland T. Rust, from Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee conducted a study on customer satisfaction. What they found was that
approximately 25% to 40% of satisfied customers do not come back to the places of business where
they have been satisfied.
Wait a minute! Why would a satisfied customer not come back? The answer is very simple. Because,
they were simply satisfied. Everything was satisfactory, nothing great, just okay. For example, you may
have gone out to dinner at a restaurant. The next day a friend asks you about your meal and you tell
them it was okay. Nothing special, simply average. Another way of putting this… satisfactory. Will
you go back? With all of the choices of places to dine and spend your hard earned dollars, probably
not. No, unless you are a glutton for punishment, you will most likely look for the restaurant that gives
you a great meal, great service and exceeds your expectations.
The types of businesses that the Vanderbilt professors looked at were typical front line, consumer
oriented businesses such as restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, retail stores, etc. It is obvious that not all
businesses fall into one of these categories, but the principle still holds true. Anybody or any company
that has any type of competition needs to understand that having satisfied customers creates
vulnerability. Not only do you have to exceed a customer’s expectations, but you also need to
constantly be improving on what already may be great.
What worked yesterday does not work today. If you are doing something better than your competition
you can bet that they will be doing the same thing very soon.
The hotel industry is a good example of this. Many years ago the typical hotel customer didn’t have the
expectations or make the demands for great service that they do today. All the customer wanted was a
clean room with a television set and a hot shower. Then one day a serious competition for hotel
customers began. Rate wars began. Less expensive rooms may have been was one way to compete,
but not necessarily the best. There had to be more.
One day a sharp hotel owner decided that amenities could create a competitive edge. It worked! It
started out to be simple; thicker towels, fancier soaps, etc. Then the competition, the hotel “across the
street,” figures out what was going on, and not to be outdone, copied. The next wave of amenities were
sparked, such as better candy on the pillows and a newspaper in the morning - and not just one paper -
but perhaps a choice of different newspapers. At what point did it stop? Eventually, everybody was
offering the same thing. It was at that point that the biggest difference between one hotel and another
had to do with the people that worked there. The hotel employees became the ultimate “amenity.”
If what you sell is great, but your service is mediocre, then the best you can expect is limited success and
eventually total failure as competition comes along and takes care of the customers by giving better
service. But put a great product in the hands of people willing to go beyond typical levels of customer
service and you get beyond being simply satisfactory.
Today’s customers expect more than satisfactory experiences with the people and organizations they do
business with. Every company has their version of a “hotel’s amenities.” Just about every business
claims to give good or great customer service. Good service has become the norm. An organization
has to go beyond satisfactory or just acceptable levels of service. Terms used to describe this higher
level of service have been knock your socks off service, delighting the customer, and many more. Get
your customers out of the danger zone. Go beyond simply satisfying your customers and you will create
many MOMENTS OF MAGIC!
Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want to
develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep’s
speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs contact (314)692-2200 or Shep@hyken.
com. (http://www.hyken.com)
Copyright ©2004 by Shep Hyken, CSP and Shepard Presentations, LLC
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