A gardener, knee-high grass and a loyalty lesson.

Most customers don’t want to switch… until they feel they have no choice.

Let me tell you a little story that got me thinking about this just this week.

I’m at that age and stage where I’m looking after two generations—three if you count the gap between my eldest and my youngest! 🤣

My mum still lives at home with the help of some brilliant carers (they really are a godsend). She also has a very big garden, so she’s had a gardener for a good few years now. He’s been reliable, trustworthy—and as his business has grown, he’s stepped off the tools and built a team.

All good, right?

But at the start of this season, I noticed my mum’s grass was looking wild. So I messaged him to say, “Hey, it doesn’t look like Mum’s grass has been cut yet.”
He assured me it should definitely be getting done.

A week later—still knee-high grass… but an invoice landed in my inbox.

So I chased again. We had a long chat—he promised to check it.

Another few weeks passed. By this point the grass could hide a small dog. I emailed again, but this time I was clear:
“I really appreciate the great service over the years. But as you can appreciate trying to juggle 2 households is time consuming so I really need the grass cutting to be reliable, or I’ll have to find someone else.”

He replied immediately—mortified. Turns out, his team had been cutting a lawn at an address with the same name but on a Court… while my mum lives on a Drive.

An honest mistake, and he fixed it straight away.

But here’s the lesson in all this:

Most customers don’t want to leave you.

We want to stay loyal. It’s easy. It’s low effort. It feels good to stick with someone you trust.

But loyalty has conditions:
✅ Good service.
✅ Reliability.
✅ Clear, quick communication.
✅ A sense that you care.

Mess up once or twice and most customers will give you a chance to fix it.
Mess up repeatedly—or stay silent when things go wrong—and people will start looking elsewhere.

So ask yourself honestly:
🔹 How’s your customer journey?
🔹 Is it mapped out step-by-step?
🔹 Do you have reminders and follow-ups in place?
🔹 Are you communicating with your customers even when there’s no problem?
🔹 Where could you automate little check-ins, confirmations or reminders to take the pressure off you—but keep the experience first class?

It’s worth a look—because keeping a loyal customer is always cheaper than chasing a new one.

If you’d like help mapping out your customer journey and finding ways to automate the repetitive stuff (without losing your personal touch), drop me a message.

I’d love to help you keep your customers exactly where they want to be—right by your side.

Speak soon,

Cherie