It comes down to this: it’s not really about Twitter. It’s about managing the public face of your business. It just so happens that currently, Twitter is a really good way to do that. There are all kinds of other social media tools to help as well, but those are topics for future conversations.

People are tired of dealing with bureaucracies and mindless policies. They want to do business with people who care about their issues. They want to interact. They are real people who want to talk to real people.

In 2009 as I considered freelancing, this concept was really important to me. I am a real person with faults and strengths. I have expertise I can offer you. I intended to use this space, and some of my time on Twitter, to share things I learned about how to communicate better.

But somewhere I got lost in the fear that it had to be perfect. I forgot the conversation and the process. I let doubt crowd out the chance to grow and improve. Twitter became almost completely fluff (except for the valuable relationships I’ve made) and this space lay dormant.

Last week I read this on Michael Hyatt’s interview with Seth Godin:

Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go.

This is what I want to do. Leave you better than I found you. Help you get closer to where you’d like to go.

So I’m not going to worry that this space isn’t completed yet. That my portfolio isn’t posted yet. That I don’t have all the bells and whistles done. That’s the process. Maybe down the road you’ll help me with some of that. But first let me ask you:

How can I help you?

Received this ad in the mail today, on the same page as this one.

When you say “I should have …” out loud,

it comes out “I should’ve …”

and it sounds like “I should of …” 

But please, PLEASE, don’t put it in print!

This also applies to would have and could have and might have. Just don’t do it!

I received this in the mail today. This ad was on the same page.

This is the story of the three groomers I contacted for Candy’s first wash & fluff. They’re in various stages of the customer satisfaction scale.

I was very patient with Groomer A, attached to a local vet. I called. Left a message. No reply. Called. No reply. Called. No reply. Rinse & repeat for six weeks. Meanwhile Candy is now quite beige and shaggy and Groomer A is now a zero on the scale.

Groomer B is a pet store chain. Efficient. Options. Big staff. Had an opening for Candy on the same day. Great. An hour after I dropped her off, they called to say they couldn’t get her out of the crate to wash her. Something about barking and charging the cage door. I trekked down there and got her out amid some loud noise like a jet taking off in the doggie storage room. Hmm. No wonder she seems upset. An hour or two later … “Hi, Mrs. Conway? We can’t get Candy out of the crate.” Hmm. They don’t fluff right after they wash? Trek #3. Got her out and came back an hour or so later on trek #4 to pick her up. They did offer an express service next time – no crating for an additional fee. A month later I got a voice mail message, seeing if Candy was ready for her next wash & fluff. Nice idea, but a little too late. Another zero. I’ll never go back there.

Groomer C is a small shop that looks like a house. Cute sign. On the first call, Judy explained her credentials and what they offer for dogs. Said to bring her right in, they could finish her by 5. I got there at 1. They oohed and aahed over how cute she was and commiserated with me about my prior bad experiences. About 2 pm I got a call. My heart sank as I’m thinking “They can’t get her out of the crate either.’ Imagine my surprise when they said she was all done. In one hour! I think I’m a customer for life! Thanks, Two Paws Up! (Now all they need is a Web site, but that’s another topic for another post)

Bottom line?

Don’t make a customer beg you. Unless you’re rolling in customers and don’t really need more anyway. In that case, you should be writing this post! Most customers won’t put up with it anyway and will go somewhere else. Call them back promptly. Or even better, be available when they call.

All the procedures and protocols for efficient service won’t help you keep your customers if you or your staff can’t handle the job.

Friendly, personal service that goes beyond their expectations will delight your customers and make them want to do business with you. And better yet, they’ll talk about you to their friends.

That’s what you want, isn’t it? And if not, why not?