Even Small Accounts Deserve Big Attention

The story of my best sale ever is not a story about me; it’s a story about the team of people I have the privilege of working with every day. It’s not a story about big bucks, either; it’s a story about the creation of a loyal customer who will come back in the future because of what happened one hectic morning when his daughter asked him to call the publisher of some music she had lost.

One winter morning when our regular switchboard operator was out sick, the “sub” was pulled from her regular job to answer the phones. A gentleman called from a distant part of the country, and frantically explained to her that he needed our help immediately. He mentioned the words “organ music” so, with other lines ringing, she patched him through to one of our sheet music sales representatives.

The caller explained to the salesperson that he knew neither the title nor the composer of the music his daughter needed for a performance the next day, but that one of the selections from the work was a tune fragment from the 16th century. The salesperson understandably asked the caller to find out more information and call back.

A few minutes later, the man called back. When the “sub” operator heard his voice again, she knew something was not right. He had not been able to reach his daughter to ask her about the music, and was quite insistent that the poor “sub” connect him to somebody, anybody, who might know which of our 10,000 organ books his daughter had lost. The operator knew we still weren’t getting enough information for an order, but she wanted to see if we could help him at all, based on even the little information he had given. Desperate, she transferred the call to me, in advertising.

As the caller spoke, I copied down the snatch of tune he did remember, and took his address and phone number. I promised him I would do my best and call him back within the hour, no matter what. I guessed that a certain co-worker might recognize the snatch of tune and lead me to the composer if not the piece itself. I guessed right. My friend did know the composer, and was able to make a stab at which of his many compositions might have included this musical quote from the 16th century.

I checked with our order department supervisor, who looked in the table of contents of several books, finally locating the right one. I called the customer back less than 30 minutes later with the good news. Overjoyed, he gave me his credit card number and asked me to send him the book. Unfortunately, my division cannot sell direct to retail customers, so I transmitted his order to a local retailer, who, by phone, was able to charge it to the caller’s credit card. Then our shipping manager stopped the normal outgoing mail run to include the book of music as a drop shipment via an overnight service. A few days later, I received this note:

“Thank you for your helpfulness earlier today in locating (the music). Mustering an immediate rendition of (a rare piece) is extraordinary; so was your willingness to help. The operator directed me to the right person indeed. Thanks again.”

What was it worth to us? The book lists at $7.50. The customer’s good will — no price is too high to pay!