Thirty-four years ago, I looked my wife in
the eyes and said “I do.” I was making a promise to her that I did not take lightly then and still don’t today.
Have I always been the perfect husband? No. But that’s a part of being human and I’ve always worked hard to hold up my end of the bargain. As a business owner, you make a similar pledge to your customers. You are forming a fragile relationship that can be broken at any time if you don’t make good on your promises.
There’s a reason the phrase, “the customer is always right” is so common. It makes good business sense and it’s just good common sense. You can make the best product in the world, but without loyal customers you’re dead in the water. Why not go above and beyond for your customers? Give them the baker’s dozen treatment and show them you really care. If you exceed expectations, it will be noticed. Things like guarantees and warrantees can go a long ways.
The fact of the matter is, there are not as many projects to go around these days and you’d better believe specifiers have a much sharper focus on quality than before the recession. In the good times, there was so much business that some folks didn’t look at products as critically as they should have and business owners didn’t have to stress the little things in order to get work.
In this new economic landscape, the businesses that have survived are more finely tuned machines eager to earn business and specifiers are absolutely looking for the best. They have the luxury of being picky and they demand the best bang for their buck.
It may not always be easy to please the customer. Sometimes you may have to swallow your pride or make concessions. But if you don’t go above and beyond for your customers and have open and honest relationships that result in quality products they are happy with, you’ll be headed for more divorces than Larry King – and that can get mighty expensive.
What are your best tips for top-notch customer service?
Ty Gable
President, National Precast Concrete Association
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