Page 147 - The Apple Experience

Receptionist (three minutes later): Fred is still with another

customer, but Marvin is almost free. He will be with you in less
than fifteen minutes. While you wait for Marvin, would you like

to see our new sedan? It’s been named car of the year. It’s an

amazing experience. Feel free to sit inside and check it out.

Marvin (ten minutes later): Hi, I’m Marvin. Please accept my
apologies for the wait.

Customer: No problem. We were waiting for only a few

minutes.

The customers had not been waiting “a few minutes.” The couple had

been waiting close to thirty minutes, but their internal clocks had been reset

several times. I ran this “Apple” version of the scenario by my friends, Tim

and Denise, and they agreed that if such a conversation had taken place, they

would have stayed and purchased the car they originally intended to buy. The
car dealership could have made $70,000 in one transaction simply by

resetting a customer’s internal clock. Instead, the dealership lost the sale, and

my friends became vocal detractors of the brand to friends and family. Now,

if you think about it even more carefully, this sale was lost well before the

receptionist failed to follow the Apple steps of service. It was lost in the

hiring process, which is why Chapter 2 is critical. The receptionist never

smiled. She was unfriendly. In other words, Apple never would have hired
her! You can train people to greet, smile, and reset internal clocks, but if they

are naturally unfriendly, the five steps mean nothing.

Minimizing Frustration at the Happiest Place on Earth

Resetting the clock is not a new concept in other areas of customer service.

Apple simply applies it to the communication between the customer and