When I need to fuel up on a road trip, I don’t look for any old gas station. I seek out a QuikTrip.
QuikTrip – affectionately known as QT – is a gas station chain primarily in the south. There’s a bunch in Arizona, and they stretch all the way across to Florida. If you’re on a main highway in Texas, there’s a good chance you can find one fairly close.
What’s so awesome about QT? Well they have pretty good coffee, and they typically have a nice selection of protein bars, which I appreciate.
But the thing I love about QT… the reason they’re my go-to… is their customer service.
“How great could customer service be at a gas station? Aren’t you just trying to get in and out?”
EXACTLY. And this is where QT lives up to their name. The customer service training is centered around the idea of getting people in and out of the store as fast as humanly possible.
Their training includes being timed on how fast you can check someone out, and they even teach their team how to run two registers at once so they can get through twice and many people.
(I remember one time I was checking out at QT and an older gentleman in front of me dumped a giant bag of change on the counter to pay for his Twinkies. The cashier did a pretty good job masking his surprise, while my jaw dropped as I switched lines. This ain’t the place for that, I thought.)
At QT, you can always expect the cashiers to be nice but not chatty, fast, and send you on your way with a kind, casual parting word.
The thing that strikes me most about the customer service at QT is that it is based around the context of the situation.
If I gave you no context or background on a company, and I told you good customer service might look like “NOT conversing with folks, NOT getting to know them, and trying to get them to leave as fast as you can…” that probably doesn’t sound great on the surface.
But in the CONTEXT of a gas station, it’s perfect. Speaking of context – you will NEVER hear a QT team member say “Have a nice day!” Its always some version of:
- See you later
- See you around
- Catch you on the flip side
- See you next time
Why? Because they know I’m coming back at some point. They want me to come back. Their choice of words reinforces the behavior, convincing me that I am indeed returning at some point in the near future.
Certainly, your practice is different than a gas station. But the context is crucial in both industries.
Let’s look at one contextual element that’s huge for you – the personality of the prospect sitting in front of you.
For example, does it make sense for you to get a patient in and out of a LASIK consult as fast as possible?
The first thought may be “No! That’s awful.”
BUT depending on their personality style, the answer is absolutely YES for some personality types.
Presenting someone with a ton of data and research… depending on their personality style… may be exactly what they need to book surgery. It’s music to their ears! For others, this kind of information is like nails on a chalkboard.
The big question is: how do you know the personality of the patient in front of you, so you can selectively present the most persuasive info to them?
That’s where we get into Personality-Based Selling using the DISC Model of Human Behavior. It’s quite fascinating and almost like a Magic Key when you understand it and apply it.
And if you’re in Miami next week for Outliers, this will be one of the areas Susan and I cover during our opening presentation Saturday morning.
(I’m sure they’re sold out, but if they DO have tickets left, it’ll be worth the trip.)
And if you won’t be there (or if you just want more info NOW), reply “DISC” and I’ll send you more details on this weapons-grade approach to patient persuasion.
– Troy “Context is King” Cole
PS – if you have a chance to stop by a QT, do it and experience what I’m talking about. In the context of a gas station, it’s perfect.