THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CUSTOMER

The single most impactful business lesson I ever learned, I learned from my Customer: MBNA America Bank in Wilmington, DE. For anyone who ever held an MBNA affinity credit card, or for anyone who ever worked in MBNA’s organization, you know what I mean when I say that MBNA was fanatical about customer service.

Their culture could not be more clear. Above every doorway in MBNA facilities was the phrase “THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CUSTOMER”.

Such a simple statement, yet so comprehensive in regard to the behaviors it was intended to instill. It embodied the epitome of empathy. If you put yourself into your Customer’s shoes, and asked yourself, “How would I want to be treated?”, then the right thing to do was nearly always apparent. And let’s clarify, regardless of our individual positions in business, we all serve Customers, both internal and external.

BACKGROUND

The electric power market was deregulating, and I was a key account manager for the energy services venture of a local utility. My job was to grow profitable sales of energy related services and to secure long-term energy contracts when Customers had choice. Internally at my company, there was a distinction between the utility’s regulated and unregulated services. Externally, however, Customers just wanted their needs met in the most efficient and cost-effective way. I was fortunate to be assigned to MBNA, whom I knew would hold me to a very high service standard. They would look to me for answers and support, regardless of our organizational structure.

FUN STORY

It was a mild and sunny Saturday afternoon, with no plausible reason for an electric power outage. When my work cell phone rang, I thought to myself, “This doesn’t make sense.”

Caller ID showed it was Nick, a Facilities Manager at MBNA. I promptly answered the call, “Hi Nick, what can I do for you?”

“Sorry to bug you, Jeff, but there is a power outage at Mr. Cawley’s house, and I am here now. It looks like it’s the electric feed coming from the utility. Can you help me get it restored ASAP?”

Charles M. Cawley was a founder of MBNA America Bank. In most organizations, a commercial facilities manager would not respond to the personal needs at an employee’s home. But this wasn’t a typical organization. At MBNA, delivering outstanding service to both internal and external customers was the norm, and an expectation.

“I’ll get right on it, Nick, and I will let System Operations know.” System Operations was the central point of management of our utility’s electric grid, and they would dispatch a crew to restore service. I made that call, and then without hesitation, I hopped in my car and drove the twenty minutes to Mr. Cawley’s house.

I parked about a block “upstream” of the overhead utility line feeding Mr. Cawley’s house and walked beneath the line toward the house, looking for anything irregular. I could see Nick in the distance. As I approached the house, I could see a fuse hanging down in the open position, meaning the fuse had “blown”. Question is, “What caused it?”

As I surveyed the ground beneath the line “downstream” of the open fuse, I spotted a large, and what appeared to be freshly deceased, bird. It apparently bridged the power conductor and a grounding wire, creating an electric short which caused the fuse to blow. I gingerly picked up the victim by its talons and approached Nick at the house.

Once I was within earshot of Nick, I told him that a Troubleman from the utility was on his way out to restore service, and that he would need to replace a blown fuse. “I found your culprit, Nick,” holding up the bird as I approached him.

No sooner did the words leave my mouth… Nick breaks into an impish smile and says “Bullshit, I bet you have a bunch of them in the trunk of your car.”

When the chuckling died down, it became clear that we both felt a similar sense of relief that we knew the cause and that the fix was in process. He was able to report to his line of management that everything was taken care of and that power would be restored shortly. Nick told me to go enjoy the rest of my weekend, and said “Thanks for coming out.”

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Be willing to take on a challenge, because it will help you grow.

MBNA had a reputation of requiring exceptional service. When asked if I wanted to take on that account, I could have said no. By saying yes, I challenged myself to improve my customer service skills, and this became a great personal growth opportunity.

2. Answer the call for help, by all means.

It was a Saturday. I had no duty to answer the call. But I answered because it was so unusual to receive a call from Nick on a Saturday. He must really have a need. If he’s calling me, then he trusts that I can help in some way.

Once I had learned from Nick that power was lost to Mr. Cawley’s house, I could have said, “Not my problem; distribution lines are the responsibility of the regulated utility. Here’s the number you should call.”

There is no better way to build relationships and grow trust than to respond to someone’s call for help. As professional salespeople, we seek out and sometimes have to try to convince Customers of unmet needs, so that we can fill that need with our own product or service. What better way to facilitate a sales process than to respond to the need already defined for you by the Customer?!? Even if it does not lead to an immediate sale of your product or service, you have gained tremendous goodwill toward the next opportunity when it comes.

3. Underpromise, Overdeliver.

Tell your customer what you are going to do, and then do it in a fashion that delights them. In my story above, Nick did not expect me to show up and have my Saturday interrupted along with his. But I knew that our relationship would by further solidified if I became a teammate problem-solver in person, and jumped in the same boat with him.

4. Make your Customer look good.

Too often, our motives are self-centered and we want the credit for what we do. It is incredibly impactful when you become a silent partner in helping to make your customer look good. Let them take the credit. How trust-building would you say it is when you quietly help to make your Customer look good in their organization? This is one of the reasons I have always loved serving key accounts during my career. The business relationships are usually based upon a sequence of longterm, truly mutually-beneficial transactions. The trust that grows through iterative opportunities to serve, is priceless. Repeatedly meeting commitments over time builds trust. The flip side: trust can be broken in a single stroke. Always do what you say you are going to do, and try to overdeliver whenever possible.

5. Don’t let your organization’s structure get in the way of serving your Customer.

When I learned that Nick’s issue was with our regulated utility’s electric distribution service, again, I could have said not my problem. However, In addition to the phrase over every door at MBNA, their personal titles were “Customer Advocate”. I would not be advocating for Nick if I simply pushed him off to someone else. I decided to take ownership of the outcome and be a single point of contact to Nick. Behind the scenes, I contacted our regulated utility and got the necessary wheels in motion. If you want to provide value to your Customer, decide to be a single point advocate for them within your organization.

6. Know your Customer’s expectations.

All I knew going into taking on the MBNA account was that they had high demands, and that not all account managers were cut out for this account. From day one, I made it my goal to understand what MBNA needed from me and my organization. While some colleagues would say, “Why do you want that tough account?”, I saw it as a challenge to improve myself.

In fact, I was fortunate that MBNA so clearly communicated their expectations: THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CUSTOMER. That statement is beautiful in its simplicity. How many accounts have you served in your career where you have had to work hard to understand their expectations? Isn’t it great when your Customer gives you the roadmap?

It became pretty clear what I should do when I put myself in Nick's shoes and processed all that he was going through:

• Nick clearly had received the call in his organization to go restore Mr. Cawley’s electric service. That responsibility was placed on his shoulders.
• He did not have the option to ignore the call, regardless of the day of the week, or family commitment going on that day.
• He had to appear on site to show that he was doing everything he could to rectify the situation, to manage the process and to spearhead communication.
• He needed the problem solved, and he needed it solved right away. His life would become increasingly uncomfortable if he could not communicate to his management what corrective actions were being taken, or if he could not clearly convince his Customers that the fix was underway.
• He was expected to have answers that he required other people, outside his organization, to provide. How stressful is it for Nick if his organization requires answers, yet he cannot get them from the people he relies upon for them? Was I not uniquely capable of satisfying his needs?

When you THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CUSTOMER, you truly empathize, and your action plan becomes clearer.

7. You know you have achieved the desired outcome when your Customer busts your chops.

I knew all was good when Nick said, “Bullshit, I bet you have a bunch of them in the trunk of your car.” When the Customer busts on you, see it as a rite of passage. You have officially made it as a part of their team. Enjoy the moment, quip back if you are good on your feet, and enjoy the sense of satisfaction that you know that no one will outservice you!

For the twenty years in my sales career that followed this incident, I have never been disappointed when I have reminded myself to THINK OF YOURSELF AS A CUSTOMER. It has prompted me to make that extra phone call to share information with someone in need of it. It has inspired me to take thoughtful initiatives, however small, that help to lift someone’s day. Frankly, it has made me a better person, and caused me to raise some of my own expectations of others.

Thank you, MBNA. What a blessing to have worked with such a demanding Customer.