Your Customers Matter...Don't They?

The Double-Platinum Rule - Guest Article

2009-01-30T10:50:25-05:00

Today, Bryan K. Williams generously agreed to share his unique twist on Tony Alessandra's Platinum Rule. Thanks Bryan! Read on and share your thoughts!

While the Golden Rule is a good baseline to have when developing the empathy muscle, it only works when other people want to be treated the way you want to be treated.

We exist to serve others so they may better serve the world. SM

Written by: Bryan K. Williams

The Double-Platinum Rule SM

Whenever I deliver a keynote, training workshop, or explain my company’s service philosophy, I begin with an in-depth discussion on the three service rules. They are the Golden Rule, Platinum Rule, and Double Platinum Rule. Surely, you’ve heard of the Golden Rule, which basically states that you should treat others the way YOU want to be treated. Not everyone has heard of the Platinum Rule, which focuses on treating people the way THEY want to be treated. If you haven’t met me, then chances are that you have not heard of the Double Platinum Rule…that’s because I conceived it a few months ago. Knowing the way my mind works, there will probably be a Triple-Platinum Rule coming soon also. So before I get into the Double-Platinum Rule and its implications for creating and delivering an exceptional service experience, let’s discuss the first two rules.

The Golden Rule

In one of my sessions recently, I asked for the meaning of the Golden Rule, and someone blurted out, “He who has the gold makes the rules!” Not quite the definition that most of us are familiar with. In short, this rule is about treating others the way you want to be treated. If I want to be treated nicely, then I should treat others nicely…if I want to have doors opened for me, then I should open doors for others…and if I want to be greeted with a big hug and high-five wherever I go, then I should give a big hug and high fives to others right?.Not so fast. While the Golden Rule is a good baseline to have when developing the empathy muscle, it only works when other people want to be treated the way you want to be treated. To put it another way…treating people the way you want to be treated only works when other people want to be treated that way. Otherwise, you may end up turning people off. This can be a difficult pill to swallow for those who pride themselves on knowing exactly what others want…even without asking them. Why wouldn’t all guests want to have a personal escort and tour to their room? Why wouldn’t everyone want to hear the evening news in a taxicab? Why wouldn’t everyone want to be told “Good Morning” and engaged in conversation? The point here is that if you are committed to creating an exceptional service experience for each customer, then each customer’s wants, needs, and desires have to be acknowledged, celebrated, and acted upon. Each guest must feel as though they are the only ones in existence when being served. You owe it to them. After all, chances are they had a choice whether to patronize your business or not. Each time a customer, guest, or patient chooses to be served by you, they are basically saying “I’ve chosen you…now show me why I made the right decision”.

This now brings us to the next rule…

The Platinum Rule

If the Golden Rule is all about what you want, then the Platinum Rule is about what your customers want. So the Platinum Rule states, “Treat others the way THEY want to be treated”. Although it sounds like common sense, it’s not as common as you might think. This rule means that you recognize that service is not about what you want to give; it’s about what others want to receive. If you give me what I don’t want, then you haven’t increased your value in my eyes. There must be a deliberate effort to uncover your customer’s wants, needs, and desires in order to take the guess work out of the equation. It doesn’t matter if you “know what you’re talking about”. If you haven’t captured information to support your hypotheses, then it’s considered anecdotal. So my advice is to optimize the various ways your customers can give you information. Use telephone surveys, focus groups, questionnaires, feedback cards, etc. Once you confidently know what your customers want (because they’ve told you), then you can proceed with meeting and exceeding those expectations. Of course, I thought this all made perfect sense. After all, when it comes to service, what else can be more important than giving customers what they want? The answer hit me upside the head a few months ago…

The Double Platinum Rule

I’ll explain this rule by giving you the inspiration behind it. A few months ago, I went out to my car only to find that the front right tire was stolen…completely gone! So after storming around upset for a few minutes, I put on the spare wheel, and drove to the nearby auto store. After explaining to the attendant that my wheel was stolen, I proceeded to order a new wheel. The attendant obliged and I was told that the wheel would arrive by the following day. Great! As I was leaving the store, the manager stopped me to ask if I got everything I wanted. After telling him yes, I briefly explained my wheel mishap from that morning. He then asked in a verifying manner, “So you also ordered the wheel locks, right?” Now don’t laugh, but up to that point, I had never heard of a wheel lock. The manager told me that it prevents tires from being stolen, and I should consider ordering some. So I went back to the attendant that I placed the tire order with, and asked why he didn’t recommend the wheel locks…especially after I told him that my wheel was stolen. He then looked me in the eyes and said, “I was doing my job and giving you what YOU wanted”. Wow, that’s the Platinum Rule! The implications immediately hit me. The attendant had given me what I wanted, but I was still upset. As I was driving back home, I thought about the Platinum rule and how it may not be sufficient in all situations. So the Double Platinum rule is (you guessed it), “treat others the way they don’t even know they want to be treated”. To boil it down…anticipate, anticipate, anticipate. Don’t just meet your customer’s expectations, EXCEED them.

Grounding your service strategy in the three Universal Service Rules works well, because it heightens your empathy (Golden Rule), encourages a keen focus on your customer’s expectations (Platinum Rule), and challenges you to consistently think of ways to exceed those expectations (Double Platinum Rule).

So I encourage you to share the rules with your team and no matter which one is being discussed, you’ll know that service excellence is top of mind. (P.S. When the Triple-Platinum Rule hits me, you’ll be the first to know!)

To your continued success!

Bryan K. Williams

Chief Service Officer

May 25, 2007

Find more articles relating to service excellence at www.bwenterprise.net.

Also on the website, you can subscribe to the official B.Williams Enterprise emailing

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-We exist to serve others so they may better serve the world SM.-

100 Shifts To Enhance Customer Care

2008-11-03T09:37:02-05:00

James Feldman, from Shift Happens, is one of my favorite authors on the customer experience. For the next couple of days, he's offering a free download of his ebook, 100 Shifts To Enhance Customer Care.

Mind you, Jim is an expert in the field and this isn't one of those fluffy little 15 page ebooks. It's a 72 page book loaded with hard hitting strategies to strengthen your relationships with your customers. It's a keeper, so don't dawddle around and miss out on this one.

Click here and enter the password TREAT. You don't even have to give him your email address. And remember, the offer is only good for a couple of more days.

Fox Nissan - First Impressions

2008-06-22T10:27:43-04:00

A few days ago, I received a recall notice for the 2005 Nissan I purchased last fall. According to the letter, a bug in the computer could cause the engine to fail while traveling down the highway. If your engine has ever unexpectedly stalled while you were driving, you already know that it’s practically impossible to steer a car that stops running. The thought of my engine killing at 70 miles per hour was all the motivation I needed to schedule the repair…pronto.

My dilemma was, not knowing whom to call to get it fixed. About a month after purchasing the car from Gezon Nissan, they earned a spot on my “Business Blacklist”…(companies I no longer do business with), but that’s another post.

Fox Nissan, was the only remaining dealer (locally) who was authorized to handle the repair. Quite honestly, I was a little worried that Fox Nissan wouldn’t be to excited about doing free recall work on a car I purchased from their competitor. But they surprised me. They were not only willing to do the work, they were happy to have my business, even though I wouldn’t be paying them a dime.

Upon arriving for the appointment I pulled up to what appeared to be a pristine staging garage. Before I knew it, a smiling service advisor was running out to greet me. I knew right away that Paul was different than any other service advisor I’d dealt with in the past. It was the first time in a very long time that a service person made me feel like I was his most important customer of the day. Great energy Paul!

Next, he guided me through some quick paperwork and signature requests, but it was his next question that floored me. “Could we have your approval to wash and vacuum your car when we’re finished?” I think my jaw dropped. Of course, I let them wash and vacuum my car.

From there, Paul toured me through the customer lounge. Along the way, he pointed out a small room equipped with two desktop computers with internet access. The lounge area actually reminded me of an over sized family room/kitchen combination. And yes, it’s a free WiFi hotspot, in case you bring your own laptop.

The kitchen area was decked out with snack bar seating, fresh baked cookies, warm popcorn, and a refrigerator full of cold drinks. The central focus of the family room area was the giant flat screen digital TV. It was also stocked with plenty of reading material and even a few toys for the kids.

My car was finished in about an hour, just as I was promised. Paul came out and knelt down beside me to handle the final paperwork. Five minutes later, I was on my way.

What went well?
In this instance, pretty much everything! The facility is designed to accommodate sales AND service. They seem to have a well thought out customer experience strategy. And their “special touches” set them apart from their competitors. My first impression is, they care and it shows.

What could have gone better?
Not really anything significant in this visit. I suppose if I wanted to be really fussy I’d say, they could have dried my freshly washed car, rather than sending me on my way dripping wet. But quite honestly, a free car wash an auto dealership is a first for me…and I appreciate it!

Now, we all know that results are measured over time, and not just one experience. But, I’m a customer with fairly high expectations, and obviously, I think Fox Nissan knows how to make a great first impression. Thanks Fox, and thank you Paul, for creating a great customer experience.

Clark Howard On Customer Service

2008-02-27T11:48:17-05:00

In case you’re not familiar with Clark Howard, he’s a nationally syndicated consumer advocate who shares his sage advice through The Clark Howard Show. I’ve been a big fan for quite some time now.

In one of his hottest topics this week, he highlights some of the results from the recently released American Customer Satisfaction Index, published by the University of Michigan.

He also threw in a few comments on a couple of consumer related articles published by Business Week.

Go check check them out

Clark - Customer Satisfaction Survey Results Revealed

Business Week - Consumer Vigilantes

Business Week - Customer Service Champs

A Good Warranty Can Help You Rest Easy

2008-02-15T13:43:28-05:00

Back in 1998, I set out on a mission to purchase all new furniture for my new condo. I really wasn’t interested in investing heirloom quality furnishings, so after countless hours of comparison shopping, I made the bulk of my purchases from our local Art Van Furniture store. It’s now 10 years later, and I’ve never regretted my decision.

One of my purchases was a King Koil king sized mattress and box spring that was backed by a 20 year warranty. Five years later, in 2004, it dawned on me that my mattress might be the culprit behind my aching back.

Art Van sent someone from the service department to come and measure the sag in my mattress. If it measures 1 ½ inches deep, they consider the mattress defective, and providing it’s still under warranty, they bring you a replacement.

It turns out that my mattress was failing, but since the sag didn’t quite measure 1 ½ inches, they recommended that I call them back in about 6 months. I really didn’t want to suffer another 6 months, so I thought it was worth another call to ask if they ever make exceptions to the rule.

Without any haggling or hassling, Art Van offered to call King Koil on my behalf. The next day Art Van called with King Koil’s response, “Whatever the customer wants.”

I have to admit that I hesitated about selecting another King Koil, but the salesman sealed the deal for me when he said, “I won’t promise you that this new mattress will last you 20 years, but I will promise you that the company will back the warranty for 20 years.” That was all it took.

Now again, almost 4 years later, I realize that my back aches when I get up in the morning. But this time I was a little hesitant about asking for another replacement. I conjured up all kinds of stories in my head about how Art Van and King Koil might try to weasel out of giving me a second replacement.

Finally, I took a deep breath and made the call. Once again, without the least bit of hassle, they dispatched the service department to come out and measure the sagging mattress. This time it more than met the 1/1/2 inch criteria to be deemed “defective”. Within a week, I was sleeping like a baby on my new mattress.

I honestly cannot count the times that I have told people about this great service experience, and you can be sure that I’ll continue to spread the word.

Sometimes things go wrong and you can’t always completely control the quality of a product or service your customer receives. But you CAN always control how you make it right.

Thank you Art Van and King Koil, for keeping your promises and for making both of these experiences hassle-free.