Home > Blogs > Andi St. Jean > My opinion has to count for something
bookmark_border

I have issues!

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Keller Williams Realty Southwest

I have issues with customer service that is given to customers these days.  Thanks to companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Target, we live in the age of convenience where volume and discount pricing rule the retail world. Whatever happened to the customer is always right and going beyond expectations?  The sad thing is real estate isn't immune to this behavior either.

Why is customer service a lost art?  Are people really not willing to pay a little extra for special attention? Do shoppers like bagging their own groceries?  Am I really the only one that appreciates it when a store associate actually shows me where something is, instead of saying ‘isle 5'?"   Personally, I think the consumer has forgotten what customer service is, especially extreme customer service!

The keynote speaker at Family Reunion was Ken Blanchard.  He talked a lot about customer service.  Something he said really stood out to me, "customer service is the best advertisement you can have.  When your customer is "wowed" by your service they will tell everyone they know about you.  I know this is true.  When I am "wowed" I do that exact thing! 

I am convinced that customers don't like getting their own drinks, shoppers would prefer to have someone else bag their groceries (correctly), and most would rather talk to a live person when they call a "customer service" hot line!  My challenge to you is to provide extreme, over the top, customer service for everyone you meet. Show people what value really is. Let's reinvent the art of customer service and have the real estate community talking about the service we provide!

Comments (7)
Subscribe to CommentsComment

Submit
Show All Comments
Jason Romrell
Business Attorney and Success Advisor - Los Angeles, CA
I nver really liked the "customer is always right" attitude because it's too easy to abuse and, frankly, the customer isn't always right.  But the customer is the most important piece of any sales transaction, so from that perspective, it's worth "treating" the customer as gold (although customers ofter are wrong).  But I agree with everything else you wrote...customer service is a dying art...and one that we should salvage to stand out!
Sep 15, 2007 04:56 PM
Darrel Quebedeaux
Evergreen Realty & Associates Inc. - Newport Coast, CA
I bend over backwards for my clients and I too believe that customer service is the only really separation of me from the hundreds of others out there.
Sep 15, 2007 05:07 PM
Rob Lang
At Home Kansas - Shawnee, KS
Local Expert in NE Central Kansas Real Estate Home

WOW service is indeed what it is all about...thanks for sharing!

Rob

Sep 15, 2007 05:31 PM
Les Peralta
Real Estate Leads Prospector - San Francisco, CA
Real Estate VA Services
Keeping customers in the conveyor belt is a lot more rewarding,  your current clients will bring you more of the same high quality clients as like begets like.  Getting a prospect to try your convy belt will drain more of your resources.  Truly 'delighting' our clients will put us over the hill.
Sep 15, 2007 05:50 PM
Nicole Garner
Not Available - Tigard, OR
I agree with you. Where did the customer service go? I really miss it and when someone uses my services, I do give them excellent customer service and exceed their expectations!! Thank you for the post!!
Sep 15, 2007 06:29 PM
penny white
Jacksonville, FL

Andi,

I was (in my former life) a reservations agent for a small airline, my training  taught me to give excellent customer service.  The small airline merged with a bigger one, the bigger one still believed in the principles of good customer service. As they grew, acquiring more routes, overseas destinations, etc. there was less emphasis placed on customer service. They began to outsource their reservations department because they felt we were being overpaid,(after all, we were just glorified telemarketers ,& anyone  could perform this menial work -according to some management). In the meantime customer service went down the drain. The philosophy was to sell in the least amount of time and get them off the phone. We were told NOT to ask if there was anything else we could do for the passenger after the sale! It was sad to see, and hard for me to adhere to, so when the company offered a buy-out I took it! That was the beginning of my new life as a stager! I want my customers to get quality work and yes GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

                                                         Penny White,

                                                         Beststagedesign, Inc.

Sep 16, 2007 09:05 AM
Andi St. Jean
Keller Williams Realty Southwest - Sugar Land, TX

I am so glad to see that I am not the only who feels customer service is a lost art.  Because it is such a big deal to me I am constantly on the look out for great customer service from anyone I may do business with.  When I find it I always reward the great service by bragging about them to their manager.  I think this is important.  It is a lot of fun reporting great service to management when they are so used to hearing complaints. Two places that have built their business on great service is Chick-fil-a and Starbucks.  It is great to go into one of these franchises across the nation and see that their values are being practiced.  I love hearing the drive through clerk at Chick-fil-a say, "it's my pleasure."  So keep on wowing your clients but reward the ones who provide you with great service (let me know if a cell phone company gives it to you).  Andi

Sep 16, 2007 09:32 AM
Back to Top
Rainer
36,977

Andi St. Jean

Profile
Blog
local_phone(281) 265-0000
smartphone(713) 409-5396
Contact The Author

Recent Posts

View more Recent Posts   arrow_forwards

Additional Information

I am basically blogging on building a real estate career and occaionally giving my two cents about something. I am not actively trying to gain buyer or sellers. I want to be more of support to other agents and get ideas to help the agents in my market center.

What's the reason you're reporting this blog entry?

Are you sure you want to report this blog entry as spam?