Just like the first time...

I talked this afternoon to a startup entrepreneur who has a very healthy attitude towards customer service.

He’s run a business before, so he knows how things work. He compared his industry (which shall go nameless) to the hotel business in Toronto. “Service is lacking,” he says. “It’s all supply and demand: When it’s busy, the customer gets gouged. It takes a situation like SARS to make you appreciate the customer again.”

His company is trying to promote itself on price, but sell long-term on service. The question he asks prospects is: “What would it take to earn your business, and how can we keep you happy forever?”

And here’s his bottom line: “If you treat your customers like it’s the first day you opened your business, you're not going to lose them.”