A few years ago, I bought some really nice diamond earrings for my wife while we are on a cruise. I had heard of the jewelry store before and they had a decent reputation so I was not uncomfortable buying the earrings out of the US. Besides they were duty free, right!

I admit that I haggled pretty hard and in my opinion made a phenomenal purchase.  This was confirmed during an embarrassing moment at our local jeweler who noticed Sandy’s new ear sparkles. He is a super honest man and confirmed we made a great buy that he could not match.

But the story isn’t about the purchase of the earrings. It isn’t that I am bragging about my negotiation skills. It is about what happened afterwards!

Inadvertently I must of filled out a form that listed our birthdays and anniversary. And yesterday was Sandy’s birthday and the store owner called to wish her a happy birthday. Just like he does formey on my birthday and our anniversary.

This is a high-volume jewelry store on the island of St. Kit so the call was probably a little pricier than your USA unlimited plan. The call was a sincere, happy birthday. Not trying to sell us anything or even an innuendo of a solicitation. But it was thoughtful! And we would definitely consider another purchase from them. I am even going to write a “trip advisor” post because I am so impressed with the customer service follow-up.

In the world of sales this was a luxury purchase not a necessity.  We differentiate this by the term Gold Medals verse German Sheppard’s. I have to ask when is the last time you called a customer just to say happy birthday or happy anniversary. Do you even know when their special day is?

If not, find out and start building more sincere relationships. It will pay off with long term loyalty.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS