The Customer is King! Long Live the King!

We’d all like to believe that we treat our customers like royalty. Annoyingly though, each customer has a different definition of ‘royalty’. And these customers (myself among them) bleat long and loud about the death of customer service. This month, I’d like to share a remarkable customer experience.

When Pete and I took our first holiday in Melbourne , we needed to find a boarding house for our cat. Wanting a recommendation of somewhere excellent, I rang a local vet who gave me a list of places. Since the first one came with a recommendation, I looked it up on the internet. I discovered that they did not considered our believed feline friend a cat, but a VIP — Very Important Puss. They also did not employ ‘animal attendants’, but rather, Kitty Carers.

I called them. We chatted for half an hour and the thing that impressed me most was the invitation to “visit anytime we’re open. You won’t surprise us.” So Pete and I did in fact visit unannounced — and no we didn’t surprise them at all. A devoted Kitty Carer took us on a tour of the premises. We were shown all the different areas and told that we could choose the one that best suited our VIP’s needs. Was she elderly? If so there was a wing for older cats. Did she enjoy an active life? Perhaps the sunny, wing would suit. Was she holidaying with a family member? If so they coudl share a larger pen together.

Our VIP could also have an electric blanket or a heat lamp to ward off winter chills. There was a choice of menu items including kangaroo and raw chicken wings. And for our convenience, our feline friend could be collected and returned in a Kitty Cab.

It looked and sounded puurrfect (sorry couldn’t resist), so we booked PussyCat in for two weeks. After the break, PC received a card from the Resort thanking her for spending her holiday with them.

What business is Cooinda Cat Resort in? It isn’t keeping cats. They’re selling peace of mind. Cat owners can go away knowing that their beloved family member will be treated with dignity, respect and all the pampering a VIP commands.

Let’s skip forward now to our most recent holiday. Three days before PussyCat was due at the resort, she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. In real terms this means 2 tablets a day. That’s fine for us, yet how would the Cat Resort feel about medication? Even though I knew the answer I called. I simply had to mention the disease and they sought to put my mind at rest. It was a common ailment. Medication wasn’t a problem, “just give it to the Kitty Cab driver”. I assured them that if anything was to ‘go wrong’ their first priority should be getting PC to a vet and ensuring her safety. They in turn assured me that they had access to a vet local to them, an emergency centre and in the first instance would call our vet. We went away reassured.

The morning of our return, I retrieved a message from my mobile to say that PC was at her vet’s. Apparently she had been vomiting and had then simply stopped eating. In desperation, the Kitty Carers called her vet for instructions, then hand-fed her. Still she didn’t respond. Their vet looked her over and prescribed some antibiotics. No change. So one of the Kitty Carers drove the 50 minutes to take PC to her own vet who administered fluids. We were able to drive straight from the airport to the vet’s to collect our forlorn little patient.

Putting aside that this is an emotional time, let’s look at the customer service concepts that form part of their day-to-day activities.

1. They understand their customers. We are the cat-owned who want to know our VIP’s are in safe hands; we want them to be warm and well-fed; we want them to be treated as specially as they are at home. We also don’t think it’s silly that our pets get mail. In fact, since they’re really just smaller, fluffier humans, why shouldn’t they get mail?
   
2. They love what they do. You’d have to love cats to change 200 litter boxes. And despite having 200 charges over the Christmas period, they seem to know each one by name, easily citing personality traits and preferences.
   
3. Their systems cater to the needs of their customers. They have never once said, “Sorry our system won’t allow us to do that”. Instead, their systems reflect a standard above what customers might expect from an ordinary cattery. For example, if your feline friend is taking the Kitty Cab home, you must call Cooinda before 5am on the morning of kitty’s return. This means that if you’ve missed a connecting flight your treasured family member won’t be left in a cage on the doorstep.
   
4. They have a specialty. Obviously, their specialty is cats. While they have pet dogs and clearly love all animals, they have honed their expertise in this one area and are experts in handling not only the cats themselves, but also their neurotic human servants.
   
5. They build solid relationships – with the cats and the cat-owned. There is always a friendly voice on the other end of the phone; always a cheery comment or anecdote. Most of all, their open, caring attitude engenders trust, appreciation and respect.

Cooinda Cat Resort is one business that truly lives the “Customer is King” ideal. They do so effortlessly and enviably. There is much to emulate — even for dog lovers.

If you have any article ideas or requests, please email them to mandy@talkingturkey.com.au

I recently read this story, yet as is often the case, when I went to record it for the Coop, I couldn’t find it. Fortunately, the internet has given me another reference for it; this story version from www.horsesforcleanwater.com and is referenced to Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse by Mark Rashid

 It just is.

An old man in a village had a beautiful white horse that was very talented. People came from far and wide to see the horse and marvel at its beauty, ability and intelligence. “You are so lucky to have a horse like this,” the villagers told the old man. “It is not luck that I have the horse,” the old man responded. “It just is.”

The villagers looked puzzled but went on with their business. News about the old man’s beautiful and talented white horse traveled far and one day a rich king sent money to buy the horse from the old man. The old man thanked the king’s messenger and turned down the generous offer. “You are a fool!” the villagers cried. “No one would turn down such a handsome offer!” “My decision not to sell the horse is neither a good one nor a bad one,” said the old man. “It just is.”

Then one day the old man’s beautiful white horse ran off into the woods and disappeared. “See what a fool you were?” said the villagers. “You could have been rich but now you have nothing at all! This is very bad luck for you.” Quietly the old man replied, “The horse running away is neither bad luck nor good. It just is.”

A few days later the horse emerged from the woods bringing with him a herd of horses like himself — beautiful, prancing, white horses. The villagers rushed to the old man’s house crying, “Old Man, you were right! Your horse running away wasn’t bad luck after all because now you have all these beautiful, white horses that he has brought to you!” Once again the old man answered carefully, “These horses coming to my house are neither good nor bad. They just are.”

Weeks later the old man’s only son began riding the horses to tame them only to be bucked off and break his leg so badly that he’d never be able to walk properly again. Again the villagers rushed to the old man saying “What bad luck it is that your son has broken his leg and will never walk right again.” And again the old man replied, “My son breaking his leg is neither good nor bad. It just is.”

Soon a great war broke out in the land and all the young men were called into service — with the exception of the old man’s son. The villagers wailed, “Old Man, you are so lucky that your son broke his leg because now he will still be alive when our sons may not be.” Quietly the old man replied, “It is neither good nor bad. It just is.”

Saying to soar by

Be like the turtle.
If he didn’t stick his
neck out, he couldn’t
get anywhere at all.
Harvey Mackay

Email: mandy@talkingturkey.com.au
Web: www.talkingturkey.com.au

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