Set It and Forget It: A Powerful Customer Service Strategy

Easy Customer Experience

“Set it, and forget it!” Those are the words of Ron Popeil, one of the greatest pitchmen on the planet, known for inventing and selling the Chop-O-Matic hand food processor, the Veg-O-Matic (that he said can slice a tomato so thin it only has one side), the Ronco Pocket Fisherman and many other inventions. His Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ sold over 8 million units and helped his company to exceed $1 billion in profits. (Wikipedia)

One of the lines he made famous was, “Set it and forget it,” referring to just putting the chicken in the rotisserie and having it come out perfect every time. And, that is the lead into this week’s customer service lesson.

“Set it and forget it” is about being easy. It’s about convenience and a frictionless customer experience. It’s about having so much trust in the company that you can just “forget it.” a

Amazon is one of the companies that has figured out this concept. One of their latest programs is the Amazon Dash Button. If you are running out of detergent, soap, razor blades, certain food items and more, you literally push a button that is connected to your home’s WIFI system and, almost like magic, in just a couple of days (or less) your order shows up at your doorstep. Once it is set up, it really is as easy as just pushing that button. Amazing!

But wait, there’s more!

Amazon has taken this to another level. They have partnered with several companies, with many more to come, that will sense that you’re running low on items such as detergent for the washing machine or ink for your printer. Without even having to push the button, the merchandise just shows up. The machine actually places the order for you. Now, that’s Amazing on steroids!

I’ve written articles and created videos around the concept of predictive analytics. A customer’s consistent buying pattern allows the retailer to predict when the customer will come in. For example, you may buy dog food at the same time each month. The progressive retailer will arrange to deliver the dog food to your doorstep until you say to stop. Once you set it up with the retailer, you can forget about it. It will just happen, automatically, like clockwork.

This applies to just about any consumable that a customer buys on a regular basis: food, clothes, prescription drugs and much more.

Whether it’s a customer’s predictive buying pattern or amazing technology that sends signals to Amazon (or any other retailer) to have merchandise delivered just before it runs out, the concept of set it and forget it is easy and invisible – an experience that the customer will appreciate.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

(Copyright © MMXVI, Shep Hyken)