Being in the sales and marketing business for too long to remember, I have an appreciation for great customer service.
Recently, my house needed a new roof. I contacted three companies, none of which I had done business with, to provide a quote. Roofing company one dropped by the same day and I had an estimate two days later. Company two got me a quote a couple of days after that. Their quote was competitive, but it included a line that said my carport would be extra – which is odd because I don’t have a carport. I think the quote was prepared by looking at the house on Google Earth. The third quote came along three weeks later. This has happened with other contractors over the years and I don’t understand how they stay in business.
So it was a no-brainer to hire roofing company one. And I was right, they did a great job and they went out of their way to make sure I was happy every step of the way. This was refreshing because a roofing company typically wouldn’t have a lot of repeat customers.
At Kiers, we work hard to make sure our clients are treated very well. In fact, very often, it’s one of the company owners that is delivering the final product to the customer. Every step of the way, you have to make sure the best interest of the customer comes first. If you are over-servicing your customers, they will keep coming back, regardless of the price.
Don’t hide behind a company policy at the expense of a customer. It is good business practice to have company policies. You and your staff need guidelines. But when you lose business because of your policy, then it’s time to look at the policy. Customer service is paramount to any business, don’t let it suffer because of some silly internal guideline.
Every company says they give great service. Well, they don’t. They might think they do, but they don’t. Take a look at your business and see if your customers are getting the best service you can deliver. Ask your customer how their customer service experience was. Finally, take a look at your company policies to see if they benefit you or your customers, and adjust accordingly.