You know what I mean.

50 cents for some extra blue cheese with your chicken wings. (insert bar name here)

10 cents for a photocopy at an internet café. (insert café name here)

1 dollar to receive a fax. (just about every hotel chain)

5 dollars for a snack on an airline. (Northwest airlines)

9.95 for internet access (just about every hotel chain)

The list seems never ending.

Now what about the other end of the spectrum?

Freshly made chocolate cookies for everyone! (Midwest Airlines)

Return whatever you want, whenever you want to (Nordstrom)

Whatever. Whenever. (W Hotel)

Gets tiring trying to keep up with the fine print. My suggestion in this article is – Don’t do it. Real simple.

There are so many things that you can do to justify the “cost” of the cookies, or the fax, or the toner for the copier. But I believe that is short sided. You need to also consider the “cost” of negative perception. Reputation and trust are 2 concepts that are truly, as the MasterCard commercials say, “priceless”. You can not wake up one day and PAY to be reputable. You can not PAY to be trustworthy. You can not pay any amount of money to immediately reverse the negative effects of nickel and dime-ing your customers.

The next paragraph is my perception, and I do promise to do research to validate or refute my perception, but at the time of writing this posting, it is merely my perception. I imagine that the general population perceives companies who don’t nickel and dime as “better off”, “enjoy healthier margins”, and “friendlier”. I imagine that the opposite is true for companies who do nickel and dime. They do so because “they have to”, “because business is bad for them”, “because they are mean”.

Now I did state that I didn’t do the research just yet, but will do so. But isn’t the perception enough? If people perceive that I’m “friendlier” won’t they tell their friends about me? Won’t they choose me over my competition? Would they pay for that perception?

I have made the suggestion. Now I challenge you. As a business (heck, as a person) – be nice.

If your privacy policy is long and full of some legal words. Cut it. It’s your customer’s information. They own their name. Not you. You want to split hairs? Do it with someone else. I have other thing that I would like to do, like GETTING TO KNOW my customers. By having a conversation with them. Did you enjoy my offering? How likely are you to tell a friend?

If you have some crazy refund policy. Just stop. Unhappy customer? Give them their money back. You know what else you can do? SAY YOU ARE SORRY. I’m sorry. Start there. It costs absolutely NOTHING to say you’re sorry. There is no corporate messaging that needs to happen. Hey, sir/ma’am. I’m really sorry. I can understand that you’re not satisfied. Let me make it right. That customer will come back to you. Because you did the right thing.

As with all of my postings, let me give you an example. This was the summary of a conversation that I had with a customer service (in person) agent at the Amtrak ticketing windows in Union Station, Washington D.C. There is a rail line that runs from BWI airport to Union Station, Washington DC. It runs pretty frequently, and there are two types of trains, the regional train (cheap one) and the Acela (a bit pricier). I had purchased a ticket on the regional train one evening to get home from an already long day of speaking, and flying. I purchased the ticket, got to the track, and realized that there was a 40-minute delay for some reason.

That’s ok I thought. I know there are several trains running, I will take the next one. The next one happened to be an Acela train, which is a bit more expensive. Instead of 12 dollars, it was 29 dollars. But the 17 dollar difference was worth not having to stand on the tracks for 40 more minutes. So I went ahead and boarded and paid for the different ticket. The train conductor explained to me that I would be able to refund the other ticket. Everything seemed above board. Great.

So I get to the counter to get my refund. At which point I was informed that there was a “refund fee”. That’s right. Amtrak charges a FEE for you to get your money back when you purchase a ticket for a service that they were unable to provide at the time that they published. They make 10% of the cost of the ticket REGARDLESS of whether they provide the service or not. Now, the classic amateur arrogant business traveler move would have been to start in on the poor customer service agent. But that was not going to produce results. I would like you to remember this point, as I will revisit this later on. The way to produce results is to educate yourself on the chain of command at Amtrak.

Keep in mind, we are talking about $1.20. But we are talking about the principle also. It seems hypocritical for me to expect that I would pay $17.00 to not waste 40 minutes of my life to then go to the ends of the earth to fight the principal of the 10% refund fee. EXCEPT THAT IT WASN’T STATED! No where on the ticket does it say 10% refund fee. In small print in the little corner of the ticket, it says “refund fee might apply”. So I dropped the $1.20, but made a mental note. Not that I will never use Amtrak again, sadly, their monopolistic control over the rail service detracts from their ability to provide anything resembling decent service. So I decided to turn this $1.20 into a teachable moment. What did I learn from Amtrak?

In this instance, I learned what NOT to do. I learned what I hope to never embody as an owner of a business. If my customer wants a refund because of my inability to provide a service, I should never ever charge a refund fee. Because it didn’t make me feel very good. It made me feel angry when it happened to me. Even if it _was_ for only $1.20. It made me feel that Amtrak only saw me as a means to their bottom line. Not as a human being.

So rather than go on a rant, and try to start a boycott the likes of Rosa Parks, the reality is that in comparison, neither me, nor the corporate bean counters at Amtrak will ever experience what Rosa Parks experienced. Any notion that I would be able to spark change against “refund fees” is assanine.

But here is what I can do. I can write about this. I can teach about this. I can speak about this. And I can embody this. I don’t need to run a rail service to have a policy. I don’t need hundreds of employees to set an example. Maybe I might even be an example for Amtrak.

If my customer ever wants their money back because of my inability to provide my stated service. Done. End of story. NO FINE PRINT.

What is the perception here? Doesn’t really matter what the facts are. In business, especially with consumers being as fickle as they are, and competition being as prevalent as it is. The “facts” often don’t matter. The perception here is that Amtrak swindled me. That Amtrak needed the money more than I did. That Amtrak is NOT DOING WELL. That Amtrak resorts to “refund fees” to pad their balance sheets, rather than on providing the actual service.

Enough about that. Let’s talk about some positive things.

Now let’s talk about those companies that get it.

Those who have a reputation of NOT nickel and dime-ing. I believe they actually experience a higher margin. In the end, it’s a better way of doing business. You’re not happy with your cup of coffee. Forget it. You want a refund? SURE THING. You had 3/4th of a tub of peanut butter and somehow you don’t like the taste of peanut butter? No problem. Return it to Whole Foods.

I love talking about Nordstrom’s. Beautiful store. Nicely done. Friendly customers. Pleasant. Pleasant. Pleasant. Now you might say, they can afford to do it because they charge a lot for their stuff. To you guys, I will say, bull. They have sales and clearances. You can buy their stuff on sale, and clearance. And sure, even then, it’s more expensive than the Gap, but let’s talk about what I am paying for. I am paying for a smile. I am paying for a clean shopping experience. I am paying for no headaches. I’m paying for NO FINE PRINT.

Let me give you another example.

I once was a consultant (so different than today). I had boarded the flight in New York going to Boston for a meeting. Short little flight, 45 minutes. Barely long enough to have a drinks service. But the flight attendant did a great job! And before you know it I had a cup of coffee in hand, and typing away on my laptop like a diligent consultant. THEN. We hit turbulence. In the circus act that followed trying to save my laptop from getting fried. I ended up wearing the coffee. Now that coffee was not the greatest tasting coffee I had ever had. It definitely did not do a nice job as an accessory either. Suit, Tie, and coffee-stained white shirt later. I leave the airplane feeling pretty low about myself. I called the New York office and explained to the receptionist what had happened and if I could speak with my boss (whatever, don’t judge me, I was young, I needed guidance!). My boss suggested that I go to Nordstrom’s and get a shirt. Now, keep in mind, that I was starting out in my career. I didn’t exactly have an extra 120 dollars laying around for a white shirt. My boss was nice enough to buy it for me. But what happened next was truly amazing.

I arrived at Nordstrom’s, went to the men’s shirt area. In a total panic, looking for the customer service agent that my boss told me to ask for. She was there. Smiling. Happy. And composed. She told me that she had already prepared the shirt for me. And that she was holding it for me in the back. I followed her to the back, and she gave me my shirt. So far, pretty unremarkable right? Except that the shirt was dry cleaned. With medium starch, with a tie that matched my suit. All the tags were removed. All I had to do was wear it and leave. But she continued. She said. If you want, you can leave your shirt with me and I will try to get that coffee stain removed and dry clean it for you, you can pick it up after your meeting. Oh man, I was in heaven. YES! YES! Sounds great! I came out of the fitting room. Gave her a hug, and was about to reach for my cell phone to call a cab to take me to the meeting. She had called a cab FOR me!

This happened 10 years ago. And I still remember it.

The Amtrak story happened 5 days ago. And I remember that as well.

You decide. Do you want to build a Nordstrom’s? or an Amtrak? What do you want people to remember?

There are so many decisions that entrepreneurs need to make – the walk across the tightrope called resource management. Why not embrace and embody concepts that are “free”? It is absolutely free to “be nice”. And who knows. Maybe someone will tell your story 10 years from now.

I will come back to this post and insert links and whatnot, wanted to make sure I published it and got your thoughts on it Please leave comments and let me know what you thought.

Posted in Social Responsiblity
2 Comments Posted by Mike Davis