(Note from Mark: I am always delighted to learn of companies and organizations using The Fred Factor philosophy and principles. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is an example. I asked Brian Waltman, Director of Education, to share with you how they used The Fred Factor.)

“E-I-E-I-O” is the popular refrain from an old kid’s melody about Old MacDonald and his farm.  A new twist of the song has Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania spelling customer service “F. R. E. D.”

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is a Agritainment (combining agriculture with entertainment) facility with over 100,000 visitors annually.  Centered around a corn maze, Cherry Crest features over 50 authentic farm fun natural attractions that keep families busy for hours.  While Cherry Crest knows first-rate attractions are a key to a successful operation, superior customer service is also an essential ingredient for attracting returning customers.  This is where Fred enters the farm scene.

Two years ago as the Director of Education, I introduced Fred to the staff as a practical way of fleshing out our customer service culture.  Cherry Crest refers to their training process as “Fredification.”  The Fred concepts are clearly spelled out in the employee handbook, routinely visited  in morning staff meetings, reviewed in email updates and Fred often shows up in daily conversations among staff.  This past year CCAF went one step further by incorporating Fred in each staff’s annual performance review.  Their revamped employee evaluation had all the typical elements such as “meets job performance standards” and “follow company policies.”  But a new element was added to include “Demonstrating Fredness.”   Each employee was rated on a 4 point scales in regards to their Fred-like qualities of making a positive difference, building relationships, adding value and reinventing themselves.  CCAF even designed and created a lapel pin to award to employees who scored a 4 in each of the four categories.

CCAF intentionally seeks to hire, develop and reward Fred’s.  The return on this investment has been huge.  CCAF continually receives volumes of positive feedback from customers raving about their farm experience and in particular their hugely positive interactions with CCAF staff.    Thanks Mark, for putting Fred’s story in writing.  Fred continues to make a positive difference – even down on the farm.

If you are interested in more information or discussion about Cherry Crest’s “Fredification program,” please contact Brian Waltman  at BWaltman@cherrycrestfarm.com.

Today I visited my local bagel shop. Let’s call it “Smart Guys.” It is so close to my house that I could easily walk there. I used to frequent the place until they were frequently out of the bagels I wanted. I didn’t do statistical analysis on how often they didn’t have what I wanted; I just got tired of the “sorry, we’re out” and stopped going.

Today my boys wanted bagels. So I tried again. Guess what? They were out of one of the two bagel types I wanted. I mentioned this to the “assistant manager.” He was a pleasant fellow and explained how that sometimes happens.

No apology.

No “What can I do to make it right?”

No, “We value your business.”

I was mellow. I was conversational. I didn’t get excited. After all, I’ve lived a full life without their product for quite some time now. I can live long and prosper if I don’t go back again.

In a better world, the assistant manager or the manager (lurking in the background doing important things) would have been engaged and maybe a little excited. In this economy it is tough getting customers in the door. You want them to come back, not go away disappointed.

For them, it was business as usual.

Customer service mistakes are made all the time. We make them in my office despite our very best efforts. What should do you when they occur?

First, APOLOGIZE. That should be self-evident but I rarely experience it. If you aren’t genuinely sorry you disappointed a customer–for whatever reason–you need to find a different line of work.

Second, EMPATHIZE. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. How  would you feel if you wanted to give someone your hard-earned money but you didn’t get what you were willing to pay for? You don’t necessarily have to agree with the customer’s reasoning but you do need to understand why and how they feel.

Third, MAKE IT RIGHT. Think really, really hard about what you can do to prove you value the customer’s business. Here’s a kooky idea: why not give them a free bagel to make up for the fact they couldn’t buy the one they wanted? The cost is miniscule but the impact is major. Or how about a coupon for a free bagel on the next visit (there’s a nice way to get them to come back. Just make sure you’re not out of bagels again).

Finally, MAKE IT EASY TO COMPLAIN. I couldn’t find any customer feedback cards at Smart Guys Bagels but was able to track them down online. I emailed my feedback to see if, when and how they’d respond. The only thing worse than a complaint you get is a complaint you don’t get.

Like most things in life, service recovery is simple. It means knowing what to do to prove you appreciate the customer and then doing it.

It also means teaching everyone on your team these simple techniques and making sure they use them.