Good old fashioned service
It's never out of fashion.
Note: I originally shared my thoughts on my social media on 29 December 2024, here is an expanded version with some actionable tips.
Original Post:
End of an era. Some of you will know Leigh Lock and Safe, the family business set up by my Grandad back in 1971 and run by Dad and two of my uncles, closed its doors just before Christmas.
My tailors was closed for lunch so I had a stroll around Westcliff seeing as it was a nice sunny day.
Strange seeing the first picture, even stranger the second - no. 304 just opposite - the shop I used to help out in on Saturdays, sweeping floors, making tea, and taking every chance to cut keys.
Plus, my first home as a baby was above that shop!
Like most businesses, it didn’t sell for millions - in fact, it didn’t sell.
The world has changed, and I saw first hand over the last year or so the sheer volume of timewasters who’d come in, ask questions for half an hour, and then “go away to think” (in other words buy it online for 50p cheaper).
I remember when I bought a pair of jeans in a shop who found me the perfect fit when I was in my mid 20s. It was the first time in my life I didn’t think about bargain hunting, but instead felt that you know what, maybe they are charging RRP but they deserve that and more for the service.
Looking through their Google reviews has put a huge smile on my face this afternoon, they’ve left the kind of legacy that I also hope to leave. This sentence sums it up perfectly:
“You simply do not get this good old fashioned help and service from enough places now.“
It’s been touching to see some of the feedback and messages I’d received on that post.
As I’ve thought further, it really made me think. How can other businesses introduce that magic into their businesses? It’s surely not limited to a business built by an East London market trader, and run by his sons, is it?
You don’t have to learn to cut keys by hand to give a good service, surely?
A casual reader might form an immediate link between going over and above, and closing your business. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Dad is nearly 64, and his brothers are both older. Retirement was always on the cards at some point, and a job that involved sometimes heavy manual labour - moving safes around, and so on - takes its toll.
They were in the fortunate position that the business was stable enough to close in the right way. They could afford to do the work to renovate the shop for the next tenants, retire, and close it down without shafting anyone.
If they’d gone about things in the wrong way, it might well have been a different story.
So, how can you inject some of that good old fashioned magic into your business?
There’s no magic pill.
Simply, you need to think of your customer.
What’s going on in their world?
How can you serve them?
A customer - whether B2B or B2C - is ultimately a human with thoughts and feelings. Not a walking cash machine. Not someone to be exploited for every last penny. A human with real concerns, real issues, and a real need.
Here are some things that I’d like you to mull over, in the hope that they may sit in the back of your mind and come to surface at some point:
What little thing can I do to make this customer be amazed by the service?
If I was in this position, what would make me feel more reassured, safer, comfortable, and better?
How can I plant a seed of goodwill today, that might pay back tomorrow, even if they aren’t a customer (yet)?
What can I do today so that I can look in the mirror, comfortable that I’ve been fair, honest, and can go to sleep at peace?
Not difficult, is it?
As I reflected, I thought about the essence of the reviews.
Often, the person booking wasn’t the customer, but instead a relative or carer. For example, an elderly person who’s locked out or forgotten their keys. Can you serve both the booker and the end recipient with the respect that valued customers deserve? For the kids activity business, care providers, and so many others, there are often more customers than those who pick up the phone and pick up the tab.
What is the magic that makes people think of you or recommend you?
Dwell on this for a moment.
Why do people come back?
Why does your number get shared?
This action, or more likely these actions and behaviours, are your Crown Jewels. Guard them in the same way you guard anything that’s truly valuable to you. The cost of sacrificing them is far more than just financial. A quick buck today is a bank account leak tomorrow - and a reputational leak forever.
This doesn’t mean that you should become a charity. Far from it.
I’m not advocating putting yourself out of business.
I’m not advocating allowing others to screw you over.
I know my family never knowingly allowed this, and would be the first to give any true time wasters short shrift. Coming from East End roots, you wouldn’t expect anything less!
Instead, be fair on both yourself and others.
Basically, be a good human!
I won’t bombard this post with pictures, but you can take a look on the Leigh Lock and Safe Facebook page for examples of how they helped the community, and Google Reviews for the very kind words that their customers left. Repairing a skateboard, lending tools to customers, fixing mobility scooters, all sorts.
And one last thing.
Not only is it the right thing to do ethically (and I’ll argue, commercially); but it’s also the right thing to do for your name.
I don’t know many people in the Southend business community yet, but in an important meeting, I was asked “are you part of the Reader family?”
This question could send a shiver of fear down the necks of relatives of those who are less savoury.
Thankfully, I had nothing to fear - and I hope, it added a layer of trust to the initial stages of that business relationship when I proudly said yes.
After all, I’m proud to be part of it, and proud to see the legacy that they left.
Carl Reader is a WH Smith Bestselling Author and international keynote speaker with a real passion for helping people do better. There are two ways to learn more about Carl! You can either follow him on Social Media if you’re just curious (@carlreader on most platforms), or if you’d like to learn a little more about what he does on stage, through content and in the media from a commercial perspective, you can visit his website at www.carlreader.com
You can buy a copy of his last book BOSS IT online, wherever you are in the world. And of course, I’d love you to subscribe to this community to be the first to see everything I have to share - just click the button below. It’s free of charge!
Please note that the main image on this article was generated using AI. The words are all my own unless explicitly stated, and any other images are real.
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