{"id":4784,"date":"2013-08-12T01:37:34","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T06:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/?p=4784"},"modified":"2014-08-27T07:44:46","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T12:44:46","slug":"with-customers-its-better-to-explain-before-than-apologize-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/2013\/08\/with-customers-its-better-to-explain-before-than-apologize-after.html","title":{"rendered":"With customers, it’s better to explain before than apologize after"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Glen<\/a>

If you run a remote resort, it’s better to explain what to expect up front, rather than wait until visitors spend three days in transit to get there. Photo of Australia’s Glen Helen Gorge (CC) by melalouise on Flickr<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhat you say before<\/em> the event is an explanation, after<\/em> it\u2019s an excuse.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Guest post by Jurek Leon, Perth, Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brisbane dentist Paddi Lund makes this point in his fascinating book Training customers to treasure your business<\/em><\/a>. He has a \u2018Welcome Book\u2019 which is given to all new patients before their first appointment. This explains potential problems with some procedures before they happen. For example, taking out wisdom teeth. That way he doesn\u2019t have to make excuses afterwards. He also sets out what is expected in fees.<\/p>\n

Dr Lund says, \u201cIf I say I\u2019m more expensive up-front, and my new customer accepts that, they are not going to complain that I am pricey when they get their bill\u2026 within reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Glen Helen Resort in Australia\u2019s Red Centre<\/a>, Shelagh O\u2019Brien and her staff do this well. Their confirmation email includes a paragraph that educates their customers (often international guests unfamiliar with the challenge of distance in Australia) prior to arrival so that they don\u2019t have unrealistic expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask that you understand that while our rooms are not deluxe they are comfortable. The price is influenced by the high cost of operating in a remote environment and once you take in the beauty of the region I\u2019m sure you will find it to be money well spent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do you do currently to pre-educate your customers and what else could you do to improve on this? Share this article with your team and use it as a discussion point at your next team meeting.<\/p>\n

I’ll let guest author Jurek Leon introduce himself…<\/h4>\n

I am based in the City of Perth in Western Australia but run numerous workshops on \u2018Valuing Visitors\u2019 \u2013 these days particularly in drought stricken and tourist depleted communities in regional Australia. \u00a0The customer experience and how to influence it positively is the main way I work as a trainer and facilitator. \u00a0I also do a bit of work at times in the UK and New Zealand in small towns. \u00a0I came across your [Positive View of Rural] newsletter through another Perth based community consultant, Peter Kenyon\u2019s \u2018Bank of Ideas\u2019 newsletter where he has been giving you a mention.<\/p>\n

Welcome, Jurek! And thanks for sharing this article with all of us. <\/em><\/p>\n

You can\u00a0subscribe to Jurek’s Terrific Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0or email him to subscribe at info@terrifictrading.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat you say before the event is an explanation, after it\u2019s an excuse.\u201d Guest post by Jurek Leon, Perth, Australia Brisbane dentist Paddi Lund makes this point in his fascinating book Training customers to treasure your business. He has a \u2018Welcome Book\u2019 which is given to all new patients before their first appointment. This explains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,28,8],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Glen-Helen-Gorge.-Photo-by-melalouise.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4784"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4810,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4784\/revisions\/4810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallbizsurvival.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}