Unhappy clients will become loyal clients again if their problems are simply handled well and quickly. I believe today's customers are conditioned to what I like to refer to as the minimum shaft theory; that is, what's the minimum hit I'm going to take today? They expect stuff to go wrong and hardly give it a second thought. They have complete confidence in Murphy's Law: that whatever can go wrong, will. I like O'Toole's Law better. He said Murphy was an optimist.

People are almost stunned when planes leave on time and baggage actually arrives at the airport of destination. They don't know how to act. Moreover, they believe that "planned obsolescence" is very much a part of life in general.

Some time back I was traveling through the Atlanta airport, as was the custom for me in those days. Every flight out of South Carolina, when I lived there, connected through Atlanta or Charlotte. Since Delta Air Lines was my most frequent carrier, I got to know all the folks at Hartsfield Airport on a first-name basis. Many actually thought I lived in Atlanta.

One day I was connecting through Atlanta and I needed some orange juice to mix in with some medication I had to take to lower my cholesterol. I'm about to miss my flight so I'm rocking back and forth on two feet trying to push the line along. When I finally got to the front of the line, I proceeded to order a glass of orange juice with no ice. The powered medication that I had to mix with the juice simply would not mix with ice.

Ignoring my request completely, the vendor proceeded to pack the cup full of ice and flavor it with some orange juice. In my more polite days, I would have simply fished the ice out of the cup, poured in my medication, stirred it, and been on my way. But this particular day was not a great day for me, so I decided that I would ask again for a cup of orange juice with no ice. "Sir," I said politely, "I ordered the orange juice without ice."

This time he actually heard me, but instead of starting over and pouring me a new cup of orange juice, he proceeds to put his fingers over the cup's edge and strains the OJ through his fat fingers into a second cup. He didn't even bother to fill up the second cup. He simply slapped the lid on it and shoved it back in front of me as if I didn't see a thing.

There was a time when I would have simply walked away and would not have paid for the juice, but too much crap like this had already happened on this particular day and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I took the lid of the cup and threw it at this idiot and told him, "You got your fingers all over it—so I figure you should go ahead . . . and wear the rest of it!" Then I walked off.

I think we go through our lives as customers saying what's the minimum shaft I'm going to get from some idiot today? We're conditioned not to even bother to expect good behavior from the outset because so few people provide it.

People automatically go into relationships expecting the worst, and anything short of that disaster is considered a "moral" victory. Sadly, this is the general public's most common mentality; let's-cut-our-losses-and-move-on is the defeated consumer's mantra.

As a customer seeking better performance from those who serve me, I have found it more convenient to be proactive in this process. I've decided that if the folks whose job it is to take care of my problem aren't any good at it, then perhaps I can encourage them to get better; train them, if you will.

I also figure that if I can thank God for a meal before I sit down, perhaps I should do the same thing for the people who serve me in some capacity. I actually learned this from my wife, Christine, who is the champion thank-you note queen of the world. All you have to do is remotely attempt to accomplish something on her behalf and she'll write a note to everyone from the CEO on down. She never met a customer service survey she didn't like.

I, on the other hand, feel like I'm paying for service and I shouldn't have to thank people for doing their jobs. Still, I've learned from Christine that honey/vinegar concept of writing thank you notes.

When I lived in South Carolina, I used to hear horror stories from my colleagues about their bad experiences in airports. I thought to myself, if they'd just stay loyal to one airline, they'll reward you back. After all, it was working for me. I am not saying my planes have never been late, or that luggage does not occasionally get lost. On balance, though, most of my flying experiences have been very good over the years.

I learned early on that the best way to get good service on any airline is to simply expect it—and let people know that you're expecting it as well. The first thing I do when I get on an airplane is I ask the flight attendant for the name and the address of their supervisor.

"Is there some problem?" they always ask. "No, there is no problem. I just want to write them a thank-you note for the wonderful service I am about to receive."

Don't laugh; I swear to you, it works. I found that one of the criteria the airlines use for promotion of their people is the number of complimentary letters they have in their files. Conversely, complaint letters can be a killer for promotions. I always keep blank cards in my carry-on luggage with my picture and biographical sketch on one side, and room to write a note on the other. I use these to write a sincere and honest thank-you note to the flight attendant's supervisor, praising him or her for the wonderful service I received during my flight. I specifically mention the flight number, the name and ID number of the flight attendant, and the explicit action that he or she took to make the flight more enjoyable. I am always honest and detailed. And since I never seem to have a stamp with me, I usually ask the flight attendant if they will pass it on to their supervisor.

As everyone deplanes, you hear "good-bye, good-bye, good-bye, good-bye. . . . Oh, good-bye, Mr. Aun! It was so wonderful having you on board today. And won't you please fly with us again."

Over the years, I have flown Delta Air Lines so much that I was writing to a guy named John Hume in Atlanta twice a week. He was the director of the flight attendants for Delta at Hartsfield International Airport. I wrote so often to him that we got to the point where we shared Christmas cards each year. He got so many of my letters that he recommended me as a speaker for Delta.

He always politely responded to every "atta-boy" or "atta-girl" that I would send to his people. One day, I got a personal letter from Mr. Hume. "Dear Mr. Aun: Stop writing. I retired last year!"

A thank-you note is one of the most important things you can do for anyone. It contains four simple ingredients.

If thank-you notes work so well to get customer service representatives to actually do their jobs, imagine how stunned you would feel if a client representative actually took the time to write you a note in return. In all my nearly 40 years in business, I can count on one hand the number of thank-you notes I received from people with whom I did business over the years. I simply do not understand this behavior. Your mother taught you better!

In our insurance agency, we teach a four-tier thank-you note system. When you first secure an appointment for an initial interview, you send them a thank-you note that not only reminds them of the appointment, but suggests what you wish to accomplish during the interview.

The second note goes out to the client upon the completion of the first interview. It can be written in advance and placed in the client's file. Once the appointment concludes, add a handwritten P.S. at the bottom of your generic note and drop it in the mail the same day.

The third note thanks them for having done business with you and summarizes what you are going to accomplish on their behalf when you initiate the application for their insurance coverage.

The final note is written thanking them for having the confidence to do business with you and your company. More important, it sets the stage for your next interview with the client and paves the road for the next sale. It should also ask for referrals to other family members or friends. The deeper you go with a client, the more business they will refer to you.

Many of our clients have as many as 20 and 30 life insurance, long-term care, and annuity contracts with us. We are constantly horizontally marketing to find new clients, but make no mistake; we want to assist each client we already have to our maximum ability.

Learn to thank others for the good works they do. It will pay you huge dividends.

Takeaway Servicing and Selling Tactics