I was on holiday in La Baule (Brittany, France) for a while and spent a little time there cleaning up a rusty old bike. Call it therapy, call it weird, but it was my little summer project and I loved it.
The only thing is that I needed to help me finish the project was a new tyre...well actually two new tyres, inner tubes, WD-40, chrome cleaner, a couple of nuts, a washer or two and some grease for the bike chain...oh and those funny little levers to get the tyres on and off.
Not necessarily fascinating in itself I agree, but the people at Les Cycles de la Presqu'ile in Pouliguen, France made it so.
Every time I popped into the shop to ask for something else I discovered I needed, the staff there were absolutely fantastic. Time would be taken with each and every customer, no matter how busy the shop would be. Some might say this is not productive for the business. I completely disagree. People might not have time on their hands, but one thing that people appreciate from a business more than anything else is phenomenal customer service.
One time I arrived at the shop with the bike, missing a tiny nut on the front brake...and I didn't have the correct spanner to undo the brake to make the adjustments. With a shop full of customers, the owner of the shop, Monsieur Bernard, came out, saw the problem, went back in, got the missing piece, came out and fixed the bike...and didn't charge. This only took five minutes, but this was five minutes on something he knew would not make money, whilst there were people inside who wanted to buy a brand new bike.
When he realised the old bike I had was sold by a shop (long gone) called 'J Gonon of La Baule' his face lit up. That was where he served his apprenticeship. So for him the bike was like an old long lost friend.
I have not written this piece to highlight my DIY skills (near zero) or how a businessman potentially misses the opportunity of major sales whilst chatting about an old bike.
I wrote this piece because:
1 Les Cycles de la Presqu'ile deliver stunning customer service as do many Small Businesses
2 Customer Service is something that many big companies lack.
3 Customer Service is what 21st Century companies need to deliver to every single person who uses their services or products.
4 Big companies should spend more time learning from Small Businesses on what Customer Service actually is.
As Big Business comes to terms with a complete re-structuring of how they serve their customers, a greater focus will need to be placed on building and earning trust between the user and themselves.
Whilst I was being helped by Monsieur Bernard at the cycle shop, EVERY OTHER PERSON WAITED FOR THEIR TURN. They, like me, had experienced the great service at Les Cycles de la Presqu'ile or sensed that it was worth waiting for.
Outcome:
Monsieur Bernard lost no customers at all that afternoon. He might have even gained a few long term customers. One thing is for sure. I have two more bikes to renovate. I will be buying all that I need from him next time I am there.