As I write this I’m sitting in the lobby of my auto-mechanic (Lumber Street Auto, Hopkinton, Ma). I’ve been here for about an hour and they tell me I’ll be here for at least 30 minutes more.
Bummer? Nope. Kind of a treat actually:
- Free coffee, made by one of those cup-at-a-time machines. French roast for me.
- Free, high-speed WIFI. Didn’t even need to enter a password.
- Very (I mean very) comfy chairs — the kind you find in a nice conference room.
That’s great, but are they good mechanics? I really don’t know — just like I don’t know how technically qualified my doctor, attorney, accountant or house cleaner is.
When it comes to selling professional services, the experience is what separates you from the pack of equally capable competitors.
This is a very tactile kind of message. Get good chairs and free WIFI and people won’t be bothered waiting! I love it. Actually I trust it because that is my experience at the oil change guy. When you say “the experience” are you saying that the whole experience of the client, and not the quality of the service, is going to make a stronger impression? It seems evil and awesome at the same time.
Hi Molly! Yes, when I say “experience,” I mean the entire package. With services in particular, the “what you’re supposedly paying for” is so similar from one provider to the next that the extras are actually what differentiate them. I wouldn’t go the the auto mechanic just for the chairs and wifi, but when it’s wrapped around the commodity of an oil change, it’s the reason I go to this particular one.
Evil and awesome!