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Don’t rule out a suggestion box for clients

My friend Jimmy owes a great deal of his newfound success in the restaurant business to, of all things, a suggestion box

My friend Jimmy owes a great deal of his newfound success in the restaurant business to, of all things, a suggestion box.

Things were going badly and he needed to find out what was causing patrons to walk out the door and not come back. Jimmy found out the source of the problems by encouraging people to fill out suggestion cards.

He reviews the steady flow of input weekly and sees that it is promptly acted on.

Each person who makes a suggestion is contacted and asked to come back to give the restaurant another try with the knowledge that changes are being made. They are also offered an incentive to encourage their friends to come and eat at the restaurant.

Jimmy truly believes that the idea has saved his business.

He bought the place 18 months ago from the original owner. In that time, Jimmy has made some changes, both to the menu and the staff.

The result was a slowdown in repeat customers. Ironically, Jimmy said that not many patrons complained directly to him or his manager about the service or the menu changes.

The suggestion box became a way for customers to vent their frustration. And any business owner should know that customer complaints can and should be treated as opportunities.

In Jimmy’s case, he found a way to get feedback from customers and then offered incentives to persuade people to see if their complaints and suggestions had made a difference.

Those in the financial advice business can take a lesson from this.

By resolving clients’ issues quickly, it shows not only that you respect them and wish to provide good service, but also that you can be relied on to handle a bad situation. In a nutshell, tackling issues promptly bolsters clients’ confidence in you and your business.

Regardless of the industry that you are in, it all comes down to your customer service. Let’s face it: There would be no business without clients — and no clients without solid customer service.

No one likes to receive complaints from a customer. But there is something worse, Jimmy said, and that is when customers don’t complain.

Customers who never tell you about problems never give you a chance to fix them.

Let’s say, for example, that a financial adviser in your firm is rude to a client. If the client doesn’t let an owner or manager know, this adviser can do some serious damage to your firm’s reputation.

Embrace client complaints as an opportunity. They are a good way to improve your business and keep clients satisfied.

It could be as easy as a suggestion box.

Jim Pavia is the editor of InvestmentNews.