Page 191 - The Apple Experience

items are too badly damaged to be repaired. But FRSTeam uses very
advanced cleaning technology to restore severely damaged items like clothes,

drapes, furniture, and so on.

On its face you wouldn’t expect the “experience” to play a huge role in the

success of such a franchise. After all, don’t they just pick up clothes and clean

them? I learned differently after my first discussion with FRSTeam president

Jim Nicholas.

“Don’t you just pick up the damaged goods, restore them, and return
them?” I asked.

“This is a very competitive industry, so we must define ourselves by the

experience we provide. Yes, it’s true, anyone can show up to pick up damaged

items. But insurance policyholders often judge the quality of their insurance

carrier by the vendors the insurance company sends out. If a client has a

satisfying experience, it will get back to the insurance company and the

company will continue to hire us instead of our competitors. Positive word
also spreads quickly throughout the industry.”
5
After I talked about wow moments at FRSTeam’s national franchise

conference, major franchisees decided to put the technique into action and

develop what they call “goose-bump moments” for their customers. Here’s

how they did it. It starts with the most customer-facing employee, the driver

who picks up the damaged articles. The driver will start with the standard

questions: which items have been damaged, what is your living situation,

when do you need the items returned, how do we contact you, and so on.

The second set of questions sets up the goose-bump moment. Once the
driver has built trust, he or she will ask a personal question: is there any one

item you’re the most concerned about? Nicholas and his franchisees have

found that among the hundreds of articles of clothing or material that have

been damaged, it’s typically one or two pieces that carry the most emotional