In business, small things and detail matter.  And when it comes to customer service, small things and detail can even shape strategy and determine market share.  In Chicago as in New York City, cabs are ubiquitous, simply a banal commodity.  They all cost the same, there are literally hundreds of them in the city and consequently, they are definitely not out to lure you or sweep you off your feet.   Quite the contrary, you'll be lucky to strike a conversation with the guy if he's not talking vehemently on his blue tooth or cursing people off as they cut in front of him.  You simply don't hear somebody say that he prefers Yellow Taxi over American Taxi or that Yellow Taxi is their brand of choice.  When it comes to the Taxi business so it seems, attention for detail and service is simply not a priority, not necessary and just not expected - both in the part of the service provider AND even the customer.  But is it not?

I travel for work all the time and have taken hundreds of taxi rides to the airport over my career.  Off course, there never was anything special about them and knowing how city cabs are in Chicago, I never expected it.  But one morning, I decided to call on a particular taxi company to take me to the airport.  A neatly dressed fellow by the name of Ali pulled over in an immaculate white and shinny Ford mini van.  He was actually running early and patiently waited outside the door for me until it was pick up time.  He then proceeded to call me to tell me that he was outside.  As soon as I stepped outside, he briskly walked towards the door to help me with my bags.  I tried to help him with a suit case but he insisted that he take both.  He loaded the trunk of the van and then rapidly proceeded to the passenger's door to open it for me.  Did I incorrectly call on a Limo Service I thought to myself?  I looked at the cab license number in front of me to make sure that it was indeed a taxi service.  It was.  The inside of the cab was clean, just impeccable.  Ali had leather seats and there was not a noticeable crack or scratch in any of them.  He had one of those air freshener machines on the dashboard that gave the cab a nice fresh scent.  The temperature inside was cool, perfect for the summer time and the latest edition of Time Magazine sat inside the passenger seat back fold just to make sure that his passengers had some form of entertainment for the ride.  I told him that I needed to stop by a coffee shop since I didn't have my morning coffee that day and he immediately told took me to the nearest coffee shop.  "No problem at all Mr. Montes, we got plenty of time lets go" he added politely as if I was his only passenger for the day.  As we were driving he noticed that I was holding my cup on one hand while trying to check my Blackberry with the other.  He promptly noted the cup holders next to my seat.  Throughout the ride Ali was polite, respectful and we even connected a nice conversation.  As we were talking, his phone rang, "Mr. Montes, do you mind if I pick this call?" he asked me.  I simply couldn't believe what I had just heard out of a cab driver's mouth!  He quickly attended the call, apologized for his picking up the call and resumed conversation with me.  At the end of the ride he handed me his business card and advised me to give him a call directly anytime I needed a ride to and from the airport.  Over the past 3 months, I have not called anybody else but Ali for cab services.  I just wouldn't think over it twice now - if I need a cab ride, I call Ali.  Every time that I have ride Ali's cab, the attention to detail in service that he has provided has been as consistent as his punctuality and he has always surpassed my expectations. 

When Ali dropped me off the other day, it just hit me that he had done the impossible - he had actually branded his cab in an industry that is notorious for commoditizing and cut throat competition and made a life time customer by simply paying attention to details in customer service.  Paying attention to detail in customer service matters because that's one way to create customers but most importantly is an important strategy when extending the life time value of the customer - there is a reason that when you order a cup of coffee at a Starbucks they call you by name or that when you go to the Ritz Carlton Hotel a clerk at the front desk will go out of the way to tell you in a most precise way which are the best restaurants in town.  The main attribute of providing exceptional customer service is that you are making the customer feel special, as if they are the only one that matters in your business.  And that can have a very powerful psychological implication when the customer decides who to call on next time.  I never feel rushed with Ali, and he makes me feel as if I am the only passenger he has for the day, and that is one of the reasons why I keep calling on him.

Just as important as attention to detail in customer service is the level of consistency on the delivery.  Ali's cab is always clean, always fresh, always has a magazine in the back, he is always polite and always on time.  Customers like to know what to expect - this is one of the main reasons why good franchise models thrive: no matter where you go, the customer knows what level of service he or she can expect.  And if the service is exceptional all the time they will keep coming and most importantly tell their friends, family and colleagues to try the service as well.  Exceptional customer service that is detail oriented transforms customers into your most valuable sales and marketing team.  Attention to detail and personalization in customer services then not only creates repeat - loyal customers but also devout promoters of your business (the most powerful word of mouth tool you can ever imagine).

Creating customers by wowing them with consistent exceptional customer service and personalized attention as seen above is an effective way to differentiate a business.  As we have discussed, by delivering exceptional customer service you: 1) create customers; 2) retain and extend the life time value of the customer; 3) develop customer loyalty and 4) transform customers into promoters of your services.  But if you're a business owner that manages a number of employees or own a chain of stores, how do you manage this attention to detail across your entire organization?  The answer to this is a topic for another article but the simple answer is two fold - 1) creating a culture of customer service orientation and 2) developing accountability structures among employees when it come to customer service.  The first step in creating an accountable customer service oriented culture is clearly defining the customer service expectation and level of commitment to customer service across the entire organization.  Second, systems must be put in place to define the type of details (i.e. in the case of a cab like Ali: always having a new magazine in the car; replacing air fresheners on a particular schedule; keeping the care neat and clean; etc).  Third, consistency must be achieved by developing check and balances on your defined details.  And lastly, we must track performance by implementing a tool that can measure and track the customer behavior that we are looking for following the implementation of our system (i.e. number of new customers; number of times new customers comes to your store; share of wallet per customer; referrals from new customer; etc).

Transforming the culture of an organization to pay close attention to customer service detail can be a complex and time consuming task.  But the rewards of these efforts certainly pay off and this in itself could be an important part of any business strategy.  Through exceptional customers service we can convert customers to new clients, drastically increase the life time value of the customer, create customer loyalty and transform a customer into a promoter of your business.  This directly translates into increased revenue, market share and even employee moral as people like to work in companies that truly make a difference for others.  Who would've thought that after all these years of taking miserable cab rides, I actually look forward to calling my cab driver to take me to the airport.  But Ali is not just a cab driver - he's a business guru who has figured out a way to differentiate himself among all cab drivers through exceptional and detail oriented customer service.