Yesterday as I was working away in my beloved PLUS SIZE consignment shop, BELLA GRANDE, a man came in and introduced himself to me; said he was starting a new business and would like me to consider his services as a window washer.  A person only has ONE CHANCE to make a positive first impression, and he accomplished this by his appearance, his introduction, and his spiel.

He stated he does excellent work, had signed on many of my business neighbors, and could do it faster, better, and CHEAPER than what I was currently paying to have my store windows washed.  He asked for my business, left a business card, and promised to return the next day to demonstrate his service and sign me on, as well.

I thought about his proposal, and although the cost savings  were minimal ($2), these days every penny counts, especially for a small business person.  Those pennies can and do add up over time.  But then I thought about the word “loyalty”.  I’ve been with the same window washer for over a year now.  I thought about an incident a couple weeks ago when I jumped on him for the careless job (I thought) he did the time before.  He asked me to come outside and show him what I was dissatisfied with; then he explained that the streaks I was seeing were on the INSIDE of the windows caused by a recent thunderstorm and not by careless workmanship.  He was very calm and courteous, even faced with the rantings of this old woman, and offered to do the inside of my windows.   I appreciated his professionalism.

Loyalty – I like the definition of loyalty provided by Fred Reichheld in his book, The Loyalty Effect. He defines loyalty as the willingness to make an investment or personal sacrifice to strengthen a relationship.  My window washer was willing to take the extra time and attention to make sure I was satisfied, as his customer.

I have customers who are loyal to my store and tell me they wouldn’t shop anywhere else.  As the owner of almost-famous BELLA GRANDE, I recognize that the true measure of my success is my ability to develop relationships with my customers.

Today I had a customer try on a vest and she asked my opinion.  I told her I thought it fit her well, was a good color, and looked good on her.  She remarked, “well, you’re a salesperson, it’s your job…”.  I responded that I’m NOT a salesperson, I fired myself from  the last job I had as a salesperson, and I would NEVER tell a customer something looked fabulous on them when it didn’t.  I think that lady will come back.

So today, I waited for that new window washer to come back, as promised, and show me what he could do for me.  I was prepared to tell him thanks, but no thanks, I was happy with my current window washer.   I felt grateful for the loyalty shown me by my customers and felt it was the right thing to do to remain loyal to my window washer.

The new window washer never showed.  He did not do what he promised to do.  How will he ever hope to build a loyal customer base?  So much for first impressions!