Client reward ideas in New York City

My wife and I recently celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary, and of course this has released a torrent of amazing memories about that special day. For those of you who have ever been married, you know all too well that it’s not just the day itself, but the months and months of preparation leading up to it which are also part of the collective “wedding memories.”

One such memory for me was picking out my wedding suit. Now, I knew NOTHING about suits – up to that point, I’d managed to get by with a cheap one I’d picked up at a discount store years earlier. Fortunately, I’ve got a great friend who is much more fashion-forward than I, and he made it his mission to ensure I looked good as a groom. So off we went to Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan, where he took me directly to the Men’s Suits section – specifically, to the Canali collection.

Now, this happened to be late 2010 – the effects of the recent global financial crisis were still very much being felt, especially here in the Big Apple. So you can imagine my friend’s surprise when he saw a sign stating that all of the suits were up to 50% off! For those who aren’t aware (myself included, at that moment), Canali is a premium brand; these suits aren’t cheap. I had budgeted to buy just one wedding suit, however given the fantastic deal, both my friend and I agreed that the time was right to purchase TWO Canali suits, which is exactly what I did! One for the wedding, and one for – well, I’d find a good excuse to wear it, for sure.

Fast forward five years. I’ve still got both suits, which hold up remarkably well (another Canali trademark: these suits will last your entire life). Hold up, that is, against regular wear; they don’t hold up so well when mistreated…

I had made a big mistake. I’d worn one of the suits to a TrivWorks corporate team building activities NYC which I had driven to, and like most guys, don’t like to wear a suit jacket when I’m behind the wheel. So I had taken mine off and, after carefully folding it, had placed it in the back seat. I should probably mention that in the five years since I got married, my wife and I have had two kids – so our back seat is actually two car seats. I had placed my suit jacket in one, thinking it’d be fine.

When I arrived home and retrieved my garment, however, I was shocked to see it had been wrecked. I don’t even know how I can describe the damage, I wish I’d taken a photo…but basically, it had gotten all ensnared with the car seat velcro, and the stitching had been pulled out of the entire back of the jacket. It was as if someone had magically put their hand inside, grabbed a handful of the stitching holding the outer fabric to the inner liner, and just PULLED as hard as they could. The result looked like a spilled spool of thread covering the entire back, yet still attached to the jacket itself.

I was mortified.

Soon after, I took the suit to a Canali store in Midtown, just to see what could be done. The sales clerk took one look, shook his head with a low whistle, and said, “I think it’s a goner…” Dejected, I asked if he could ask the tailor to take a look. The clerk ducked downstairs with the suit, and came back a minute later. “I’ve got the best tailor in the world here. He said he can heal the sick, but can’t raise the dead…”

I left the suit there, and after conjuring up an image from The Princess Bride to console myself, I braced for what I was sure would be an incredibly expensive, no longer 50% off purchase of a new suit.

A couple of weeks later, I received a surprise phone call. It was the clerk from the Canali store, and he had incredible news: the suit was REPAIRED! I could come and pick it up any time.

Elated, I raced back to Manhattan and to the store, thrilled at the chance to wear my suit again – but also wondering how much this intensive tailoring job would set me back. The beaming clerk brought forth my suit, which did indeed look like new. He wrapped it up in Canali’s signature brown suit cover and carrying bag, handed it to me with a smile, and said, “enjoy!” I reached into my pocket and began pulling out my wallet. The guy just kept staring at me, smiling. “Uhh…how much will that be?” I asked.

Here’s the best part. He kept smiling at me, and said, “Just remember us the next time you need to buy a suit.”

I loved that. I loved it so, so much. Not that they had brought my suit back from the dead (which I greatly appreciated, don’t get me wrong). No, I loved that Canali was looking to me as a long-term customer who was worth investing in. That’s so rare – especially here in New York, where it often seems that our transactions are one-time only, and people try to squeeze you for all that you’re worth. In one slick move, this sales clerk had done the opposite. Yes, he knew I wasn’t rich, and that I’d never purchased anything in his Madison Avenue store before; he could have charged me hundreds of dollars for the repair, knowing he’d never see me or my business again.

But that’s not what Canali did. Instead, what they communicated with this deft move was: this is a brand built upon loyalty, upon quality, upon caring. You clearly love this suit, and we want you to continue to be happy with our product as well as our service. They then backed this claim up by expertly repairing an irreparable suit, and then not charging me for it. Their only request? That I remember how well I was treated the next time I’m in the market for a suit.

As a small business owner, this is the level of service I strive to deliver to my own customers. Like Canali, my product isn’t cheap; however, as the above example shows, you get what you pay for. This instance inspired me to try even harder in my own business dealings to go above and beyond for my clients, even more so that I already thought I was. I believe all business owners – and in fact anyone who deals directly with paying customers – can definitely learn a thing or two from Canali about how to develop long-term client loyalty.

I don’t have a need for a new suit right now, but when I do, you can bet I know exactly where I’m going to buy it!

Click here for another recent case study about excellent NYC client loyalty ideas.