My dad has been a small business owner for 30 years, he has always taught me the importance of customer service. He always said he likes to "support the little guy"; meaning shop at small businesses in your area. I have come to agree with him the more I am in contact with big businesses. I have come to loathe having to call or email customer service departments in the cable company, online retailers, financial institutions, health insurance companies etc. First, I hate the electronic menus which almost never give me the option I need. Second I hate having to talk to a different person every time I call, I have to retell my entire story to this new person, who is usually reading from a script and doesn't know how to help me anyway!
I've had to buy many, many appliances in the last few years for different properties I have worked on. I used to always just go to a big box home improvement center and my dad would laugh and ask me how the customer service is there. It is usually terrible, first you actually have to find someone in the correct department, then you have to wait as they look up the answer in a manual or call for help. They don't care about you or if you ever come back. Compare this to the little appliance store in Quakertown called Dimmigs. It's kind of a joke in our family because its been around probably 50 years and we dont know how they are still in business. Its a family run store and they know everything you would ever need to know about appliances. They aren't high tech but their customer service is great. I have also had good experiences with Sears. There is always someone there to help and the salespeople really seem to know their product and want you to be a happy customer.
"Customer is king" seems to be a dying slogan these days, companies care much more about their profits than the customer relationship. Sometimes when I get a really helpful person, I want to tell their manager what a great job they are doing, but shouldn't that actually be the majority of the time instead of the exception? What if we as realtors treated our clients the same way? What if we knew nothing about houses and every time a client called the office they would get a different realtor to work with?
As agents our businesses won't survive without providing excellent customer service, always returning calls or emails promptly, truly listening to the client, and caring about the long term relationship are essential. I now choose, whenever possible, to support companies that feel the same way. Dad was right to support the little guy, its worth it to me even if I have to pay a little extra money, to receive that great customer service.
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Lauren Krady is a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker, the nation's oldest and most trusted brand. She is a member of the Jeff Geoghan Realty Group and serves all of the Lancaster City PA homes market with superior customer service and dedication. Contact Lauren to start your home search in Lancaster City and beyond by calling her at (717) 824-7236.
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