This is a blog post by Derek Hopper, Lead Engineer of TULA.
One of my first jobs was with a company called Mike's Carwash (they're a big carwash chain throughout Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky). Our main focus was the customer and giving them the best experience possible. Customer retention is high because the employees are friendly and always do the right thing.
Mike's Carwash has a concept called "WOW points". For example, you get a point if a customer mentions you by name when you're not around. If a customer takes the time to send in a comment card about a great experience, you get a point.
It's a reward system at its core, but it's so much more than that. Doing these things becomes second nature. You become less focused on the points and more focused on continuing to do the right thing. You start racking up the points with customers because you're always focused on them.
I like to think we have a pseudo WOW points culture at TULA. No matter how long a customer has been with us, we treat them the same - we treat them as we would want to be treated. Our glowing reviews reflect that.
We are racking up the WOW points as best we can. That's how we try to stand out. Customers that have received responses from us in less than a few minutes know this. Customers that ask us for advice know this. Customers that need website help know this.
Each time a customer comes to us with a request, we handle it in the best way possible.
Here's the best part. You can translate WOW points into many different parts of your life. You can do it at your yoga studio. You can rack up points with your friends or at the office. If you focus on it for at least thirty days, you'll form a habit of it. Eventually, you'll forget about the points altogether and all you'll have left is a better culture, a better yoga studio, and a better you!