This idea is excerpted from Barbara’s book”  Building Customer Loyalty: How YOU Can Keep Customers Returning ” ( McGraw-Hill, 1994 ).

“A moment of truth is a memory for the customer…”

A Moment of Truth is a memory for the customer, so one of the best ways we can create customer loyalty is to make that experience a positive memorable one, so that the customer leaves thinking, “Wow! That was really special!”  Enhancers are the little extra things you can do in a typical moment to make it positively memorable.  Enhancers can create  memories. Positive memories over time create loyalty.

Here are some enhancers that others have added to create extraordinary experiences for their customers:

• A cleaning establishment keeps its customer records on computer.  When the computer shows that the customer has spent a total of $500 with that cleaner, the order they are picking up is free.  This unexpected surprise has dazzled their customers.
• At the Ritz-Carlton hotel employees escort  guests rather then simply pointing them someplace in the hotel.
• A suburban Illinois bank serves coffee and donut holes at all times in its lobby.  They also have a play area for customer’s children and provide childcare while the customer is doing business.
• An auto parts store loans its customer videotapes they have created that explain how to do various car repairs.
• A pediatric dentist provides telephones in his reception area with the number of the tooth fairy posted beside them.  The children who are his customers may call the tooth fairy (a bedridden person in a local rest home) whenever they visit his office.
• A speaker ends her presentations by giving each audience member a “Pass It On” card that says,”The world is more special because you’re in it!”
• A bank teller keeps a pad of Post-It notes in her drawer that say “I’m glad I saw you today.”  While she is transacting the customer’s business,  she signs one of the notes and slips it (unknown to the customer) into the customer’s bankbook or other paper from the transaction.
• At La Perla restaurant when the waiter or waitress brings the check, he or she also brings two small complimentary glasses of dessert sherry as a thank you for dining with them.
• The Savings Bank of Rockville, CT, gives customers a foldover business card with the bank logo on the front.  On the inside it says, “Who says The Savings Bank of Rockville Doesn’t Give Away Free Samples?”  A dime is pasted to the card below.
• A retail store clerk enhances each customer’s experience by suggesting accessories for what they have purchased.  She will often even take time to go to another floor to bring back matching items to share with the customer.
• Herwaldt Oldsmobile hires a retired gentleman to serve coffee to people waiting in line in their cars for automotive service early in the morning.
• A salesperson in a large retail store took time to write a thank you note for my purchase at her store.  She even remembered about a trip I mentioned I’d be taking and commented on that in her note.
• A jewelry store keeps a record of the dates of anniversaries and wive’s or girlfriend’s  birthdays.  Then the month beginning 30 days before the date, they send a reminder card to the husband or boyfriend at his place of work.
• Nordstrom in Oak Brook, Illinois, lists its closing time as 9:00 p.m.  However, they often stay later to accommodate a customer.
• A production worker keeps a supply of stickers that say, “This product was created with care by _______.” He writes in his name and attaches it to the product.
• When I wanted a certain dress at a retail store that they did not have in my size, a salesperson called 14 stores in 3 different states to try to find it for me.  When she couldn’t find the exact dress I wanted, she apologized with lots of empathy (“I know how very much you wanted that dress, and I tried my very best to find it for you”) and then offered me an option.  She said she had found a dress of the same color with similar styling and if I wanted to try it, she would send it out at no charge.
• A Kroger floral shop gives broken flowers and unused corsages to children  who visit the shop.
• An amusement park places video monitors playing cartoons and other specials for the customers to watch while they are waiting in line.
• A customer service rep always has a bowl of seasonal candy on her desk for her customers to enjoy.
• Gateway Cleaners, which I mentioned in Chapter One, has a customer bulletin board where they display stories about their customers as well as pictures of new homes, new babies, and trips their customers have taken.
• USAA insurance declared a 25% a rebate on auto insurance for everyone who served in the Desert Storm combat area during hostilities.  They also set up a hotline–the Desert Storm Assistance Center–so that should a member be killed, the survivors could call in and they’d take care of everything: life insurance, bank account, investment management, property insurance–everything with one phone call.
• American Airlines has authorized their flight attendants to issue cleaning vouchers right on the plane whenever they accidentally spill on the customer.
• When a friend of mine was training in another city, a waiter in the hotel where she was staying overheard her say it was her birthday that week.  On the evening of her special day, he brought a piece of cake with a sparkler on the top to her room.