According to market research, businesses lose as much as 30 percent of their potential revenue due to poor customer service. If you're like most, you could use a 30 percent increase in sales.

Many small-business owners are quick to boast about their customer service. However, you may get a different story if you talk to their customers. Some customers don't rate the level of service nearly as high as the business owners do.

Can you define the difference between customer service and customer satisfaction? If you have to think very long, you may need to read the rest of this column.

Charles often buys breakfast at a fast-food restaurant. Last week, he visited one store three times. On Monday, he waited 11 minutes for his order. On Tuesday, he was out in three minutes, but when he went to eat his breakfast, what he had was not what he'd ordered. On Wednesday, it took nine minutes to get his order. He had to ask for napkins and a straw and then wait while the cashier went to find more one-dollar bills. Was Charles served or satisfied?

Mary's car was hard to start. She took it to a neighborhood auto mechanic who promised to do a complete tune-up by 5 p.m. When she picked the car up, it started quickly, but on the way home the engine began to make a strange noise. Mary's husband found that one of the spark plugs had loosened and blown out of its hole. He replaced it and tightened the other. After that the car ran well. Was Mary served or satisfied?

Dave hired a contractor to paint his house. The contractor had the highest bid, but justified his price by giving a one-year guarantee and pointing out that the high-quality paint he would use should last for 10 years more. Fifteen months later, Dave noticed peeling paint. Was Dave served or satisfied?

Karolyn needed new glasses. After the eye exam, an office assistant helped her select new frames. Karolyn tried on several, and one of the least expensive felt quite comfortable. When Karolyn selected these, the assistant insisted that she try on several of the more expensive designs. The assistant stressed how much better the more expensive frames looked. Karolyn really couldn't tell much difference, but the assistant was adamant, so she finally bought the higher priced frames. Was Karolyn served or satisfied?

Sonny bought a new suit. When he asked to have the pants cuffed, the young salesman made a face and shook his head. "You don't want cuffs," he insisted. "Nobody gets a great suit like this with cuffs." Reluctantly, Sonny agreed to have the pants fitted without cuffs. At a business conference the following week, Sonny noticed that all the other executives wore cuffed pants. All that is, except one young man with a flashy teal-blue pinstripe and three earrings and Sonny. Was Sonny served or satisfied?

Ella headed through the check-out line at her favorite grocery store. "Please put the eggs and strawberries in separate sacks," she requested. When she unpacked the groceries at home, she found the eggs and strawberries under three cans of peas. Was Ella served or satisfied?

I'm amazed at how many business owners spend thousands of dollars to attract customers to their businesses, then let them slip right through their fingers. You'll never keep a customer just by serving them. You must exceed their expectations. It's nice to delight them, wow them and amaze them. But, most of all, you must satisfy them.

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