Little Things Can Make A Big Difference

March 28, 2014

Call me what you may, but I love stories about lousy customer service.  Maybe because I’ve seen so much of it, seeing stories about it lets me know that I’m not alone in the world.  So when I saw this article about companies with the worst customer service reputations, it made me smile.  I can’t explain why, but that’s my reaction.  And the thing that makes me laugh is that it doesn’t take that much effort to change the perception of lousy vs. great customer service.

Over the last few days, I have experienced both lousy and great customer service at the same place.  I was bringing my daughter home from college for the weekend and on the way back she wanted a milkshake. So we stopped at a place where we love the milkshakes and the person at the counter engaged us in a friendly conversation, making a comment about my daughter’s sweatshirt. We talked for a few minutes during the time when another employee was making her milkshake. We left after getting her shake and my daughter commented about how nice and friendly the cashier was. It was a very pleasant experience, primarily because of the level of friendliness of the employee.

Fast forward to last weekend and my sons saw the empty milkshake cup in my trash can and they wanted to get one. We went back to the exact same location where just days earlier I had experienced great customer service.  Only this time, it didn’t go as well.  We were greeted with a one word request for our order. “Yes?” in a grumpy, annoyed tone of voice was the only word that our cashier spoke. We gave her our order and she simply nodded her head. I handed her my debit card, which she took without a word, not even telling me the total. She handed me back the card and the receipt, once again without saying a word. The shakes were made and she handed them to us without saying a thing and her expression looked like she wanted to be anywhere else on the planet except at work. My sons said thank you as she handed them their shakes and she didn’t even make eye contact with them or respond. She handed me my shake and said nothing. On our way out, my youngest son asked why she was so annoyed or angry.

Within a span of days, I had two very different experiences at one of my favorite places.  (Our Tuesday blogger, Linda likes it too!)  And the difference was very small. The quality of the milkshake was exactly the same. The price was exactly the same.  The cleanliness was exactly the same.

Yet, I left the location with two very different feelings because of one small thing: customer service. And it’s not small, it’s huge. But it really is small in terms of level of effort.

The same thing applies to your financial life.  With a few minor tweaks, you can make a lot of financial progress.  The things that most people can do, but aren’t doing now, to make progress toward a secure financial future are:

• If available, enroll in the contribution rate escalator feature of your 401k.  This is like autopilot for your 401k and if you increase your contribution by 2% per year or 1% every 6 months, you will see a tremendous increase in your contribution level over the next 5-10 years and you may not really notice any difference in your paycheck.  For a 30-year old employee, I built a quick spreadsheet for myself to see the difference in her account balance at age 65, and by enrolling in the rate escalator, she would have an extra $1,250,000 in her 401k at age 65 using a relatively conservative 6% growth estimate.
• Pay down debt aggressively, including your mortgage, using a concept like Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball (Google it) or by paying down the highest interest rate debt you have (the best way to minimize total interest expense).  When your overall debt level is at $0, every dollar you earn becomes available to save or invest.  That could, in turn, provide you with a level of financial independence that most can only dream about.
• Track your expenses.  I know, everyone hates budgeting.  But I’m not asking you to only spend $X/month on a particular item.  All I’m asking is that you take a few minutes per month to track your expenses. Using a service like Mint or Personal Capital or any other similar tool of your choice, take the time (and it’s very minimal) to know exactly where you spend your money.  Most people have a rough idea, but when they dig into the details there is always a surprise or two.  In those surprise areas, you can decide if you’d like to cut back a little bit (the difference between my two cashiers) and use those funds to pay down debt, save, invest, or increase 401k contributions.

Personal financial management, like customer service, is an area where a very small change can make a huge difference. What small changes can you implement in your financial life? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.