Customer Service

The picture above is of my new treadmill.

It arrived Thursday, while my wife was at work, and I was out of town. It weighs close to 300 pounds.

Knowing my wife and I would not be able to move the thing by ourselves, we paid extra to have the package delivered and set up in the loft above our garage, where all my magic equipment is stored.

The moving company was supposed to call us a couple of days in advance to schedule a delivery date.

Since the treadmill is currently sitting in our dining room, that didn’t happen.

The company never called to schedule a delivery time. Instead, they dumped it off on our porch.

My wife and 73-year-old mother-in-law muscled it into our dining room ourselves.

We were all understandably livid.

When I got back into town, I called the delivery company. Their response?

“We’re only responsible for delivering it and we did that. Call Dick’s.”

I called Dick’s Sporting Goods, the store where I originally ordered the treadmill. As of this writing, nothing is yet resolved.

I’m still waiting to hear back from Dick’s.

This was about the worst case of customer service I could imagine.

Now contrast this with what I did when I messed up.

I was on the road performing Christmas Magic shows at schools all week. So I was driving a lot and staying in hotels for multiple days, something I don’t like to do much anymore.

On Wednesday, I entered that day’s school address into my iPhone’s GPS.

It took me to an open field in the country. Confused, I typed the school’s name itself into my phone. The directions came up. Hurray!

The GPS led me straight to the same field.

Finally, I looked up the middle and high school campus, knowing the elementary school was nearby.

And my GPS took me to the same open field.

As I drive around aimlessly, I finally reached the main office after several tries.

After explaining the situation, they gave me verbal instructions and got me to the school.

By this time, I was 30 minutes late and had no chance of setting up my show in time for the first scheduled performance.

I apologized profusely to everyone at the school and politely asked if we could shift the schedule.

“No problem,” the principal assured me. Everyone was great.

I apologized again and offer the PTA a $100 discount for the trouble, which they accepted.

In the end, both shows went great, and all the teachers came away very impressed.

That’s the way to handle a problem.

Apologize, do what you can to fix the situation, and above all else, be polite.

Let’s face it, things are going to go wrong in your performing career. If you want to be a full-time performer, realize that first and foremost you are in a service industry.

And by providing a service, it’s up to you to do everything in your power to make sure your service comes off smoothly.

Now contrast my show story with my treadmill situation.

Which one of us has handled the situation better?

There will be times when your clients are unreasonable. Or things are not as you were told when you arrive.

Here are just a few show disasters I’ve had to contend with when circumstances were out of my control:

• At a recent show, the librarian who booked my show moved the location from the conference room to “between the stacks” to accommodate the larger-than-expected crowd. As a result, I had patrons walking around my props trying to reach bookshelves before and after my show.

• At a recent birthday party, at a critical spot in my show, late-arriving guests brought two large dogs with them, disrupting the show.

• At a recent corporate show, the spot the CEO picked for my show had a gigantic pillar obstructing the audience’s view of my show.


The common thread with all the above stories is simple. The client or someone else at the event threw a monkey wrench of some sort into the plans.

None of these problems were catastrophic but merely annoying.

None of these people were professional event planners. Nor are they theater managers. Or stage directors.

They were just folks trying to put on an event. And my show was just one piece of the puzzle.

If I had come in with an attitude, I would have risked damaging my reputation.

Sometimes we have to grit our teeth when dealing with customers. Get through the situation as best we can. Live to fight another day.

It’s all about realizing this is a long-term business.

Of course, I am not suggesting we allow ourselves to be doormats. Far from it. But the stories I mentioned above were all similar in that none of them were worth my blowing a gasket and hurting my career.

When disaster strikes, do these three things:

1. Take a deep breath. Force yourself to step back and get “outside” of your emotions. (In NLP and hypnosis, we refer to this as “disassociation.”)
2. Remind yourself that the situation you are in is only one day. This too shall pass.
3. Smile! Then ask yourself and your client what can be done to handle the situation.

Remember once again that you are in show BUSINESS.

Have a great week!

--Cris

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:

 
1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.

It’s called “The 2-Word Secret to Eliminate Your Competition & Become Your Area’s Busiest Magician.” This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy HERE.

2. Get my website video training for under $10:

 
In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details HERE.

 
3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.

 
Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how HERE.

 
4. Work with me privately.

 
Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

© Copyright Cris Johnson, Inc.