Customer service

[Amoskeag]

"You never know where someone was an hour ago"
This advice was given to me by a friend who was upset by something that happened to her son in scouts. She was very angry but didn't take it out on me because she had had a horrible day and there was no way that I could realize that I just happened to be the last straw. Wow! Being a total knee-jerk reactionary, this floored me! Very good advice!
I voted for the no service-no business option because I feel that politeness should be a part of everyone's life. I'm a performer and customer service is almost completely what I do; no one will hire a crabby musician (at least not a second time). I do think that we owe folks the benefit of the doubt, however. To write off a merchant after one email or phone call seems too harsh and I won't do that. If one turns into many without result I will make my dissatisfaction known and invite all within the sound of my voice to share my boycott.
Steve is right. We live in an age of "instancey" and I, for one, run the risk of being spoiled by it. It's hard to patient when you don't have to be! That is why I shun the big chain stores and pay a dollar more for a can of paint at the local hardware store. I'll probably get five dollars worth of customer service and good advice in the deal.
I ordered an inexpensive acrylic kilt from a company who' service record is legend here. I placed the order on a Friday night and the kilt was on my doorstep the following Wednesday. What really amazed me was the Monday and Tuesday of that week was Christmas Eve and Christmas. How can I argue with that? By the same token if I were to order a custom 8 yrd tank from Scotland I need to be prepared to be patient.
I guess the bottom line is that I like to reward nice people.
Bob

[Ozman1944]

As a customer, I expect decent and polite service; and should the response to my exasperated; "How can I get a little service?" be
"Go to a little Church!" then you just lost a client!

However, I fully realise that starting businesses can have horrible blundering glitches, screwed up orders, unanswered queries, curt replies etc. So I don't get too melodramatic unless there is lots of my money involved. Everyone deserves a chance to improve (That's why erasers are put on pencils) within a reasonable adjusting period.

But, once the 'newbie' finally gets established, the Gremlins are conquered, his/her store is opened, business picks up, then I expect consistant, excellent service. Should this still not be forthcoming, well, there are other businesses.....

[Oldhiker]

I have been in industrial sales for 30+ years. Just last week I conducted a sales training class for some of the newer sales people in our company. Our goal is to move our company from merely being order takers to becoming sales people.

We had three days of classes put on by 4 senior sales people in our company, the message we brought to our trainees was "VALUE". If we bring "Value" to our customers they will come back. No value means all we have to sell is price. Low prices mean no profits and going out of business. Customers want to deal with a supplier for a long time.

Value can be many things
Quality
Service
Problem resolution
Consistency
Good stock of products
etc
etc

so far the vendors I have used on this site do just this...they bring VALUE and I appreciate it very much. THANK YOU

[JerseyLawyer]

I'll draw a distinction between places that are just rude and those that have so-so customer service. It if takes me a little longer to get an item than I'd like, or something like that, then I can be forgiving. If someone is outright rude to me, though, and nasty, then I will take my business elsewhere.

So, I went with, "Getting what I want without too much hassle."

[Coinneach]

I voted the first option...bad service=no business from me. And then I realized that's not always true.

Sometimes, after talking it over, either my other half or I will look up the company on the Internet and document our complaint. By that time, we've both had a chance to think about it rationally and decide if it's someplace we'd want to go back. Either way, we figure we're not the first and won't be the last if the company doesn't hear about it. More often than not, the company has called us personally to get more information than one can get into an email and, usually, to express their regrets.

Many will try to get us back with a discount of some kind, and we often take them up on it. Sometimes, if the nature of the affront was that bad, we'll clearly indicate that they've lost our business...if not for good, then at least for a long time (usually more than a year).

[The Wizard of BC]

OK, I'll throw another thought at you from my side of the counter.

How many of you have ever spent the time to give a retailer an honest and thorough review of the service you received?

Let's not assume that the experience was so outstanding that you just MUST tell the retailer how well they did. Let's assume that you are satisfied with your purchase, that you were treated well, the only thing missing from the entire experience was say, a little "How did we do" card that you can fill out and send back.

It would seem to me that this business of kilts would be a small world. One where we all know each other and all share something in common. Would you not assume that 1/2 or even 1/3 of your customers would send an e-mail or maybe make a phone call and say stuff like..."I liked your product and I liked your shop, but you seemed to be grumpy that day." Or how about..."You make a very nice kilt but I noticed that the floor hadn't been swept in a couple of days."

I have never received an honest review or critique of the shopping experience at FK. Not one. It makes me wonder sometimes if I did something wrong, if perhaps I had done something different I may not have just sold a kilt but gained a friend.

If our goal is superb customer service then we on this side of the counter really need this feedback.

See, I know I'm a curmudgeon. I know and fully expect that I may come across as a total jerk to some of my customers. I don't want to, I want their experience to be equal to the hard earned money they spend in my shop. So where did I put those little "How am I doing" cards?

[berserkbishop]

OK, I'll throw another thought at you from my side of the counter.

How many of you have ever spent the time to give a retailer an honest and thorough review of the service you received?

Let's not assume that the experience was so outstanding that you just MUST tell the retailer how well they did. Let's assume that you are satisfied with your purchase, that you were treated well, the only thing missing from the entire experience was say, a little "How did we do" card that you can fill out and send back.

It would seem to me that this business of kilts would be a small world. One where we all know each other and all share something in common. Would you not assume that 1/2 or even 1/3 of your customers would send an e-mail or maybe make a phone call and say stuff like..."I liked your product and I liked your shop, but you seemed to be grumpy that day." Or how about..."You make a very nice kilt but I noticed that the floor hadn't been swept in a couple of days."

I have never received an honest review or critique of the shopping experience at FK. Not one. It makes me wonder sometimes if I did something wrong, if perhaps I had done something different I may not have just sold a kilt but gained a friend.

If our goal is superb customer service then we on this side of the counter really need this feedback.

See, I know I'm a curmudgeon. I know and fully expect that I may come across as a total jerk to some of my customers. I don't want to, I want their experience to be equal to the hard earned money they spend in my shop. So where did I put those little "How am I doing" cards?

Steve,
Personally I have never purchased anything from you. That being said, the only reason is because I have never needed to yet. You were a godsend while I was trying to figure out how to get my sewing machine working, and you had no motive to do so. If I find myself in the market for something similar to your wares, I will order from you in a hearbeat. I am positive that your customer service is superb; after you bent over backwards to help someone you have never met or held a phone conversation with and I have never been a customer. That kind of thing is how you build loyalty. Keep up the good work.

R. Bishop

[Donnie]

Customer service can make or break a new business. It's a known fact that given good service, someone will more than likley tell some of their relatives. Given bad service they will tell everyone they meet! Think about it. If you get good service, do you jump on this forum and tell everyone? If you get bad service?

[RockyR]

I personally excpect a VERY high level of customer service from all of the companies that I spend my money with and therefore, when we started the company, we put that same expectation into the OTHER side of the counter.

There is no excuse for poor customer service. That's not to say that we haven't made a mistake or two... but the customer service lies in how those mistakes are remidied.

[James MacMillan]

OK, I'll throw another thought at you from my side of the counter.

How many of you have ever spent the time to give a retailer an honest and thorough review of the service you received?

Let's not assume that the experience was so outstanding that you just MUST tell the retailer how well they did. Let's assume that you are satisfied with your purchase, that you were treated well, the only thing missing from the entire experience was say, a little "How did we do" card that you can fill out and send back.

It would seem to me that this business of kilts would be a small world. One where we all know each other and all share something in common. Would you not assume that 1/2 or even 1/3 of your customers would send an e-mail or maybe make a phone call and say stuff like..."I liked your product and I liked your shop, but you seemed to be grumpy that day." Or how about..."You make a very nice kilt but I noticed that the floor hadn't been swept in a couple of days."

I have never received an honest review or critique of the shopping experience at FK. Not one. It makes me wonder sometimes if I did something wrong, if perhaps I had done something different I may not have just sold a kilt but gained a friend.

If our goal is superb customer service then we on this side of the counter really need this feedback.

See, I know I'm a curmudgeon. I know and fully expect that I may come across as a total jerk to some of my customers. I don't want to, I want their experience to be equal to the hard earned money they spend in my shop. So where did I put those little "How am I doing" cards?

Dear fellow curmudgeon -

I attempt to give feedback to companies that I think are at least trying. If they give me mediocre service and the product is good, I write a paper response followed up with a copy to any personal contact that I may have had with the company. For brick and mortor companies this is usually inclusive of the CEO or president, customer relations individual, quality control person and sometimes the sales manager. I try to find an officer with the appropriate title on line and lately that is becoming easier on the net.

A good fifty percent of these feedback letters yield an answer. Depending on the quality of the product, it may induce me to repeat my business attempt.

But companies only get two chances. If the cecond time customer service doesn't improve, I send a second letter with a copy of the first and tell them that they have lost my business.

In your case, I will print some cards up that say ..."I liked your product and I liked your shop, but you seemed to be grumpy that day." and we can all use them......