When You Can’t Help A Customer, Refer Them

There is a great scene in the 1940s movie “Miracle On 34th Street” about the Santa Clause working at a department store.

When a child asked this Santa for a product the store didn’t have – wanting to keep the child happy – he would send the parent to a store that did carry the desired product.

At first, the store management was flabbergasted that he was sending customers away.

However, through telephone calls and telegrams (it was the 40s), customers were indicating they loved the new policy and declared their loyalty to the store. They were becoming known as the store that cared. They were putting a happy parent and child above profits. And, in return, became more profitable.

If you can’t help, refer customers to a business that can.

How can you put customer happiness above the instant sale?