Creating Memorable Customer Experiences: Lessons from Conrad Hilton and Tom Peters

1. #1 (of 14): First Things BEFORE First Things: Conrad Hilton’s Commandment

2. CONRADHILTON, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and asked,“What were the most important lessons you learned in your long and distinguished career?”His answer …

3. “Remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub.”

4. “EXECUTION ISSTRATEGY.”—Fred Malek

5. LONG Tom Peters’ IMs to Dog Biscuits: In Search of Experience Excellence.2015 Nissan North America Customer Quality Summit October 2015 (Slides at tompeters.com; also see our annotated 23-part Master Compendium at excellencenow.com)

6. Tom Peters’ IMs to Dog Biscuits: In Search of Experiences That Rock (& Are Remembered!) Nissan North America/Customer Quality Summit/ October 2015 (Slides at tompeters.com; also see our annotated 23-part Master Compendium at excellencenow.com)

7. #2:TGRs & the “8/80” Fiasco:Towards “EXPERIENCES” That Rock!

8. Customers describing their service experience as “superior”: 8% Companies describing the service experience they provide as “superior”: 80% —Source: Bain & Company survey of 362 companies, reported in John DiJulius, What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience?

9. Conveyance: Kingfisher Air Location: Approach to New Delhi

10. “May I clean your glasses, sir?”

11. Conveyance: Southwest Airlines Location: Boarding flight to BWI, Albany NY

12. “May I help you down the jetway?”

13. & Are Remembered“Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”—Henry Clay"Let's not forget that small emotions are the great captains of our lives."–—Van Gogh

14. <TGWand …>TGR(Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT)

15. 7X. 7:30A-8:00P. F12A.7:30AM = 7:15AM.8:00PM = 8:15PM.(2,000,000)Source: Vernon Hill, Fans, Not Customers

16. It BEGINS(and ENDS) in the …

17. PARKINGLOT* *Disney

18. CARL’S STREET- SWEEPER**Flowers on the showroom floor/Stanley Marcus; mechanics’ uniforms;Will Milbury won’t show us a house; etc.

19. NOT “Consultantese”“Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods.”—Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage

20. “At our core, we’re a coffee company, but the opportunity we have to extend the brand is beyond coffee.IT’S ENTERTAINMENT.”—Howard Schultz“When Pete Rozelle ran the NFL, it was a football business and a good one.NOW IT’S TRULY AN ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS.”—Paul Much, Investment AdvisorBoston Globe: “Why did you [Berkshire Hathaway] buyJordan’s Furniture?”Warren Buffett: “Jordan’s is spectacular.IT’S ALL SHOWMANSHIP.”

22. CXO**Chief eXperience Officer

23. Will Milbury won’t show us a house!

24. Mr. Watson’s shirts and ties* ***Walsh year #1: 2-14 ***Marvin and the pocket protector/SF loses the hats

25. LIST Service > sales in “Age of ZMOT" (process of deduction)Mechanics-as-gods (any idiot can fly a plane)Mechanics' uniforms (Watson) Great hours, especially service (Commerce) )Mechanics hired for SWA criteria (listening, caring, saying thank you, being warm) Clean innardsClean serviced car (looks detailed) Clean (street sweeper, parking lot) (Dairy farm: "You can eat off the floor") After-service (after-sale) visible "white glove" teamClean loaner (good loaner program/Susan) AAA lookalikeLoaner at discount fee after big accident Point out what you've done (Bob Wilson @ Elgin Box) Recognition (for service, finance people > sales recognition; Creech's "drive by") Give buyer hotline with names; intro to those folk Dealer's phone # Do more stuff (United Problem Solvers/BB’s Geek Squad)

26. No gobbeltygook re finance/K.I.S.S. NEVER wait outside the finance officeAttitude in finance > Attitude in sales!!Hire for attitude in finance! (any idiot can add)

27. Museum of cool cars (T. Sturgess) (or electric trains, or bonsai) Available for community events (field in back of dealership)Specialty group you support BIG Time ( think women--Half the Sky)Handwritten thank you notes (Campbell/30K/10 years)Multi-lingual as appropriate (sales, finance, service) “Cool stuff” (Zoe) (spontaneous)Never too late to add featuresHelp with "stuff" (Susan's bad roof rack advice) Cater to kids Dog biscuits (Commerce)Community service support (Body Shop)Entertainment (Griffith's/ Nordstrom's pianos) Annual thank you event for customers $$$$$$ Apologize for little things which more or less weren't your faultDealer on the frigging floorStudy psychologyRead Retail Superstars, Small Giants Product-service-experience-lovemark

28. JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET, FAIRFIELD, OH: “An adventure in ‘shoppertainment,’ begins in the parking lot and goes on to 1,600 cheeses and 1,400 varieties of hot sauce—not to mention 12,000 wines priced from $8-$8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors. Customers from every corner of the globe.” BRONNER’S CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND, FRANKENMUTH, MI, POP 5,000:98,000-square-foot “shop” features 6,000 Christmas ornaments, 50,000trims, and anything else you can name pertaining to Christmas. …”

29. *Basement Systems Inc. (Larry Janesky/Seymour CT)*Dry Basement Science (100,000++ copies!)*1990: $0; 2003: $13M; 2010:$80,000,000

30. #3: TGRs/LBTs**LittleBIG Things****************

31. Big carts = 1.5X Source: Walmart

32. Las Vegas Casino/2X:“When Friedmanslightly curvedthe right angle of an entrance corridor to one property, he was ‘amazed at the magnitude of change in pedestrian behavior’—the percentage who entered increased fromone-thirdto nearlytwo-thirds.” —Natasha Dow Schull, Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas

33. METHODOLOGY (1) AMENABLE TO RAPID EXPERIMENTATION/ FAILURE “FREE” (NO BAD “PR,” NO $$) (2) QUICK/INEXPENSIVE TO IMPLEMENT/ QUICK/INEXPENSIVE TO ROLL OUT (3) HUGE (POTENTIAL) MULTIPLIER (4) AN “ATTITUDE”/“CULTURE” (WTTMSW/WHOEVER TRIES THE MOST STUFF WINS) (5) AN “ALL HANDS” GAME.

34. #4: TGRs:3 Minutes

35. THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THERESPONSETO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM. (OPPORTUNITY).

36. Relationships (of all varieties):THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTEPHONECALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.* *Divorce, loss of a BILLION $$$ aircraft sale, etc., etc.

37. With a new and forthcoming policy on apologies …Toro, the lawn mower folks, reduced the average cost of settling a claim from $115,000 in 1991 to $35,000 in 2008—and the company hasn’t been to trial in the last15 years! Source: John Kador, Effective Apology

38. 10.23.218 …

39. #5: TGRs: *18

40. “The doctor interrupts after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think

41. 18 …

42. “The doctor interrupts after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think

43. 18 … seconds!

44. Best Listeners Win … “IF YOU DON’T LISTEN, YOU DON’T SELL ANYTHING.” —Carolyn Marland

45. *8 of 10 sales presentations fail*50% failed sales presentations …talking “at” before listening!—Susan Scott, “Let Silence Do the Heavy Lifting,” chapter title, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life,One Conversation at a Time

46. 10 Essential Selling Principles Most Salespeople Get Wrong 1. Assuming the problem that the prospect communicates is the real problem. 2. Thinking that your sales “presentation” will seal the deal. 3. Talking too much. 4. Believing that you can sell anybody anything. 5. Overeducating the prospect when you should be selling. 6. Failing to remember that salespeople are decision-makers, too. 7. Reading minds. 8. Working as an “unpaid consultant” to seal the deal. 9. Being your own worst enemy. 10. Keeping your fingers crossed that a prospect doesn’t notice a problem. Source: Forbes/0503.13

47. #6:Spread Your Wings

48. UPStoUPS

49. UPS = United Problem Solvers

50. I. LAN Installation Co. (3% local market share)II. Geek Squad. (30% local market share with name change.)III. Acquired by Best Buy.IV. FLAGSHIP OF BEST BUY WHOLESALE “SOLUTIONS” STRATEGY MAKEOVER.