Frank Meeks, president and owner of Domino's Pizza Team Washington, a 52-store chain in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, has always understood the consequences of alienating customers. For employees, however, such concepts often prove abstract. So, Meeks tries to talk real numbers with his employees and connect them with customer satisfaction.
For example, Meeks estimates that many customers patronize his shops twice weekly, which means they spend close to $1,000 a year. Each unhappy customer therefore represents $1,000 in revenue lost annually. Actually, losses are greater still, since each unhappy customer tells about a dozen other people about his or her negative experience.
By explaining in concrete terms how every lost customer affects the bottom line, Meeks drives home the importance of keeping customers satisfied.
Copyright 1997 G+J USA Publishing