Once upon a time a friend of mine had a boyfriend and they were very serious about each other. Two or three nights a week he’d come over for dinner. She’d set the table with her finest linens, candles, the works!

Time Went By
She was a very busy lady and, over time, the fine linens became paper napkins (the really good ones though), and then, over still more time they became the paper napkins from the local Wendy’s. Not long after this, my friend discovered that her boyfriend was seeing someone else. She was devastated. As she told me her sad story she said through her tears, “It’s the napkins isn’t it?”

I Understood What She Mean’t
In the beginning she had pampered and spoiled and paid lots of attention to her beau but, over time, she took him for granted. The napkins went from linen to good paper to really bad paper. She just stopped paying attention to the details and took the easiest, quickest way out.
A Lesson for the Wise
Now our relationships with our clients are much like my friend’s. In the beginning we make sure that all the plants are perfect, our service is exemplary, our response to calls, immediate. But over time we fall into what I now call, “the napkin trap”. We’ll replace that plant next month not next week, we’ll just splash and dash this visit.  As for cleaning the containers?  Well, that can wait, heck we did that couple of months ago.  Then, when we hear that our client (our beau) is accepting bids from other companies we’re absolutely outraged. We remember the cloth napkins while the client just remembers the one’s that say “Wendy’s”.

You Can Take This to the Bank
Write this on the wall in letters 5 feet high. Client Retention is absolutely your Number 1 Job. What good is a bucket for New Sales if the Old pour out of a hole in the side? Look over your client list and ask yourself honestly, “Are we pleasing this client now, not last year, but now?” Are you setting the most beautiful table? Is the client getting the cloth napkins or the paper? ‘Nuf said.