CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE

Customers for life is a fantastic book by Carl Sewell who owns multiple successful car
dealerships in the United states in the state of Texas. He has changed how automobile
dealership businesses are run. This book is written in a very simple language and has pointers
after every chapter to make it easier to understand each chapter. This book is a must read for
any entrepreneur or just anybody who would be interested in running or working for a
successful business. Carl in this book talks about how to turn a one-time customer into a
lifetime customer. He also emphasises on the importance of customer service in any business
and maintaining a long and healthy relationship with your customers. Carl covers everything
from customer service, employees, the physical location of a store to advertising in this book
and much more.
The book is divided in 10 commandments of customer service. These 10 commandments
stand true for all businesses and not only the automobile industry. These commandments
provide essential guidelines to follow in the business to be successful. Below mentioned are
some of the key takeaways from the 10 commandments of this book.

Key points and takeaways from this book -

Treat a customer like the amount he is going to spend with you- The book talks about how
an average customer if retained would spend a total of 332,000 dollars with them over their
lifetime and Carl talks about how to treat your customers like you would treat 332,000 dollars.
Also, when interacting with an employee treat them how you would treat you family
members: with honesty and integrity.
If the customer asks, then the answer is always yes but only to an extent- In the retail
industry it is quite famous to never disappoint a customer by saying no. It is always heard of
that you should always say yes to a customer which is the right thing for the business, but Carl
also importantly and clearly draws a line to it. If the customer if misbehaving or extreme in
situations, then you have to put your foot down and not entertain it. Also requests from
customers which cost a lot of money should not be just accepted unless they are completely
true as they ultimately affect the business. For example, if a consumer says I had a 100 Rs
note in the car before it went for servicing and even if you know it wasn’t there, it really won’t
affect the business if you give the customer a 100 Rs. But if the customer purchases a new car
and then tries to return it after using it for quite some days then you have to say no as it will
affect business.
Ask for feedback but do not force it- Customer feedback is extremely extremely important
because every business feels like they are doing everything right but a customer is the one
who can exactly tell you how to improve your business by telling you what they don’t like
about the business. There are many ways to take feedbacks, Questionnaires, feedback forms
etc. Even FGDs for the customers who have the time, but the feedback should never be
forced. Never call the customers at their place to just ask for a feedback as it feels intruding
and you might be disturbing them.
Keep a cushion in your estimates - When giving customers a cost estimate always keep a
cushion so that you never exceed the estimate. It is okay if you estimate seems a little high
due to the cushion but there is nothing worse than going higher than the estimate quoted to
the customer.
Smiles can only get you so far, but systems change everything- We all know how important
smiling and being courteous is in a job. But smiling is the icing on the cake and the systems in
the cake itself, So if the system doesn’t work properly smiling and being courteous wont help,
For example if a customer in a dealership has to wait for 45 minutes before he is attended to
then all the smiling and saying sorry in the world won’t help but the system needs to changed
by which the customer wait time will decrease.
All employees are responsible for all the customers- All the customers are responsible for
the customers and at not point should they feel like there is a separate department to take
care of that and it is not my job. It is of utmost importance that the employees take ownership
of their interaction and behaviour with the customers.
Borrow ideas- Borrow ideas on how to improve your businesses. The ideas don’t necessarily
have to come from the same industry. There are many great examples of companies having
fantastic processes which if implemented correctly will really help your business. If you have
a new idea do not try it out full scale no matter how tempting it may be as the cost
implications will be massive, do a small pilot run first to see if it is successful and if it is then
implement it slowly to the whole business.
Account for everything- Account for everything in the business, right from the employee
performance to the utilization of a space. If everything is accounted then the attitude of do
your best doesn’t work and when things are quantified, you know things can be better.
Pay and choose your employees well- Choosing the right employees is the fundamental to
the success of any organization, so spend as much time as choosing the right employee as
possible. The employees should also be payed very well. Money is not the most important
factor a employee works for but it definitely is important and if the employees are payed and
treated well the productivity will go up and you will save costs by not having to hire more
employees doing average work rather some employees doing brilliant work.
Boss leads the way- The owner or the boss of the business should follow what he preaches.
If the employees find out that the boss doesn’t treat the customers properly then even they
wont be motivated to do so.
Have high standards- Have high standards in the business for everything and strive to reach
them and then aim higher. You should never settle as you can always be better.
No such thing as afterhours- The business must be open according to the convenience of the
customers and not the other way around. Always be available for your customers as they
appreciate it and they will reciprocate this by coming back and getting more business.
Tell the customers how we do things- If the customers know how we do things, then will
understand our process and be more empathetic and they will have an answer for most of
the questions which is what a business wants.

Changes in my though process

• One of the beliefs that I had was that having a lower cost than your competitors will increase
the footfall and eventually revenue for your business. But as the author correctly says that
anybody can find new cost cutting methods or may just be too stupid with his calculations
and price lower than you. The only way to have a long-term advantage is to have a proper
process and system in place with gradual improvements while maintaining good relations
with the customers.
• Long term relationship with your customers is extremely important for a healthy business
and that should be the top priority.
• Any idea, even if it seems like a no brainer should be tested on a small scale to check its
feasibility. Example- sending out greeting cards. Most wouldn’t think twice before sending
it out to all the customers on an occasion but there has to be a study done whether they will
appreciate it or not and whether it has any effect on the business.
• I used to think of feedback as a secondary process, but feedback is very important as it will
help you improve your business and bring changes which the customers want and need.
• Never force your customers for feedback. Example: calling their residence for a feedback.
• I used to have the thinking that the customers have to be charged for every service they
avail but the author correctly mentions about charging only when it is important letting go
of very small costs as they appreciate it and strengthens relationships and they will bring in
more money in the business than that small cost.
• Smiles can only get you so far- Proper processes and systems are what makes customer
service long term and profitable and smiling only the icing on the cake so focus on getting
the process and system correct. Smiling and warmth should be there throughout.
• Trading and doing business with competitors is fine as long as it is positively affects your
business.
• Having a price cushion more than what you think is going to cost the customer so that there
is a small margin for any unknown errors that may occur on your behalf. I had the thinking
that the cost quote should be exact, and the service should be lesser than that but this puts
a lot of pressure.