Once, a little girl wrote to Sainsbury’s supermarket, asking why Tiger Bread looked more like a giraffe. In response, the supermarket giant changed the name to Giraffe Bread. This all came about after getting a reply from the supermarkets customer service manager agreeing with her – an amazing response, positive exposure for the business and great customer service.  

I think we can all agree that customer service is important, but is yours good enough to earn your golf club extra revenue and drive up membership?  

Many clubs, if they are honest, would probably say no. When we have done mystery shops for our clients, the common responses and feedback would be the following: 

-No smile  
-Rude  
-No eye contact  
-Did not try and upsell to the customer.  

Let me put this question to you: “Does your customer service drive growth and revenue”?  

A few stats can highlight how important this issue is:

68% of customers believe the key to great customer service is a polite customer service rep.  

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That’s a good start, so all your staff need to do is be polite, seems easy right? Manners cost nothing.  

The average person tells 15 people when they have had a poor customer service experience.  

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We live in an age of social media so imagine the impact that can have. Information travels faster than ever before, so make sure that information goes in your favour.  

I was researching a job for a friend recently for a local coffee shop, and when we looked on their Facebook page, some customers had commented that the service was bad, the server seemed rushed and the milkshake they had ordered was bad. Then, to compound this further, the person who made the feedback, her friend replied and said she would not be visiting because of the review. These situations need to be avoided at all costs.   

93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service.

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Are you providing excellent service so the customer will come back time and time again?

Consumers are willing to spend 17% more on a company that has outstanding customer service.  

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You could work out how much this could be worth to your club, either through the pro shop or the bar, there is certainly money to be made.  

It takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one negative experience.   

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Twelve. This stat shocked us. Make sure you don’t give the customer any reason to give you negative feedback and certainly don’t be stubborn about it.   

One story from my time in a golf club we had a very negative review from an afternoon tea customer. Instead of not confronting the issue and letting it slide, I invited the disgruntled person back in for a coffee, we discussed a bit about the situation, and the lady went away a lot happier than when she came in. Now this customer may never have used the club again, and that is her choice, but I knew I had don’t everything I could do to convince her to come back, and I was happy knowing that.  

How do you respond to your customers feedback? Do you even respond? I once worked for a golf club where the GM did not respond to feedback which is almost criminal. 

57% of customers want to communicate with companies via email (and social media) for customer service.  

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So, make sure you check your emails because your response time is crucial. That still means almost half want to use the phone, so be open and for goodness sake, let them speak! They want to be heard and you need to listen.   

Investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.   

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This stat speaks for itself, yes, it is important to gain new members and business, as you need to move forward and grow. But you most definitely need to look after your existing customers.

When we at Mango Golf break everything down, we must accept that when we have an opportunity to provide great service, we do it, no questions asked! We know this is not only good for the golf club, it’s great for staff morale and most definitely great for revenue, and great for the longevity of your golf club.