Customer Service 101
By Bernadette A. Moyer
It’s been said it is easier and less expensive to keep a loyal customer than to find a new one. Word of mouth is still the most effective marketing tool and far less expensive than advertising. Do a good job and your business will automatically thrive.
Recently I heard from a couple who engaged a tree service company in Pennsylvania and were unhappy with the service they received. At this same time in Maryland my husband and I experienced the same thing with a tree service company from our area. They just don’t care about their business. Eventually people complain and the word gets around, “don’t use them.”
Earlier this year I had some jewelry repairs for a small gold necklace that I wasn’t able to wear for a few years. When I took it to the local jeweler the salesclerk I normally do business with was out. The woman who took care of me threw my dainty hand strung gold and pearl necklace in a paper bag. It wasn’t what I was used too and I immediately could feel myself get upset. We paid good money for that necklace and our normal jeweler from home wouldn’t have done that.
They always put our finer pieces in a cloth sack and then when the repairs were completed in their signature box. All good moves since it had their logo on the box and are a great marketing tool for them as it keeps their business name out there.
Customers want service and a business should always service what they sell. People talk. The best kind of business is usually referral business since that potential customer is coming through the doors already giving you their vote of confidence.
Imagine how you would feel if you booked a big event and it was costly and when it came time for a planning meeting the host site only offered you one day and one time during the week to meet? Yet you are fully aware that this particular venue hosts all kinds of meetings and events during the evenings and on weekends? The only person who the meeting is convenient for is the employee who lives a stone’s throw away but insists that multiple professionals have to alter their schedules which includes taking a day off from work to do so? Would you feel accommodated? Would you feel that the business wanted your business? Of course not! And most likely you will tell all your friends about it. Not a good business model at all.
We all vote with our dollar. Where we choose to spend our money is like giving a vote of confidence to that business. My husband is very loyal but if he has a bad experience say in a restaurant he not only doesn’t go back there but he tells everyone how bad it was.
When we treat others the same way that we would want to be treated, they know it and they sense that you value them and their business. The reverse is also true.
I’ve been in sales, marketing and development for my entire professional career and been very successful at it. I always loved repeat business and referral business because it is so much better than having to start over with garnering trust and confidence. With a repeat customer and with a referral you already have their trust and confidence.
True professionals in business believe you should under sell and over deliver. This almost always sets you up for a happy and satisfied customer.
The customer is king because the bottom line is that without customers, you are out of business!
A final happy business story – last fall we had $2,800 worth of tree removal at our beach property. We did business with the owner and he was great! He did the job thoroughly in the time frame agreed upon. He called when weather didn’t permit the work; the owner was always in communication with us. We always had the sense that our business mattered to them and as a result we felt respected. He showed up when his guys began the job and when they completed it. But he also over delivered. After the front trees were removed there was uneven run off in the driveway and it not only looked bad but would have created drainage problems. Without any additional costs and after listening to my husband’s concerns, and because they had all the necessary equipment on site, he had his guys properly grade the entire driveway with no additional costs to us.
The final payment for the tree removal was due in 30 days but we paid him fully in 7 days and wrote a letter of recommendation for the really great work they did for us!
And that’s how you build a business … its all pretty simple and pretty much customer service 101!
