“After each customer interaction, notice if you gave them a “happy to see you” kind of experience.”
Marilyn Suttle, author, via Goodreads
Personal values, such as integrity, honesty, and likeability, I learned from my upbringing. Motivation, commitment, and organization, came from a career in the Navy. Problem-solving and customer relations are the result of a lifetime in various occupations including the aforementioned Navy, sales, and some self-employment ventures, two that were particularly unsuccessful and my present venture in partnership with my wife. After nearly forty years at work, each of us has found the perfect venture – and, a perk, we love working together. When my spouse was ready to leave the day-to-day management of a Nursing Education program, she found the certification side calling. In this niche market, students have graduated a post-secondary healthcare school and now require them to meet State public health criteria through examination and skills evaluation to receive licensing.
And that is happening in spite of, and to some extent, because of, the 2020 Pandemic. Despite candidate health surveys, frequent sanitization, applying social distancing spacing, and following revised assessment criteria, the key to a successful enterprise continues to be good customer relations.
And as the coronavirus still drives strong demand for healthcare workers, servicing federal or State-mandated fingerprinting for school enrollees is strong. Though we are primarily focused with healthcare, other occupations are regulated by State or Federal mandate to submit fingerprints. Clearance by the DOJ and /or the FBI is necessary in finance, social work, daycare providers and for teachers. With the closure of many competitors for months due to California pandemic prevention measures, our ability as a mobile service during the year – to go to the client’s site – has been one of the only servicers in my region. And our business is assisted by social media, word -of-mouth referrals, and when the cell phone rings, answering it as often as possible, is key to setting appointments.
Maintaining a good product, providing excellent service, and rolling (pardon the pun) out to a client, often female, as a mom n’ pop service team, have only served to increase customer referrals. I can attest to the success of Marilyn Suttle‘s advice, to give the customer a “happy to see you” experience.
Truths, Half-truths, and Sea Stories 