The title of this post is a quote from an unknown source. It has never hit home as much as it did this past weekend for me. It fits for any industry and any size organization.
As many know, I live in Frisco TX one of the fastest growing and best mid-sized cities to live in the United States. However, many companies still do not understand customer service even in the best of cities in good economic times.
Business Requirements
My business requires several things: since we are not paperless, a good printer is a must for my operations; I have multiple offices, I would like a good laptop; and I do a lot of work over the internet, I want a fast connection. I wanted to better understand what was available and where I could purchase some of these items.
Laptops
I went to Best Buy in Frisco to look at some laptops and printers. I start with the laptops. I ask them if they have with docking stations. I wanted the docking station for my home so that I could still utilize my screens, printer connections and network connections without having to unplug all the cords. They quickly said they did not have any. That was it so I started walking away. I left without even looking at the printers.
Perhaps a question like what is important about the docking station would have been appropriate. It turns out a port replicator would do most of what I am looking for and they had plenty of laptops that would have fit the bill.
Printers
I went next door to Staples and started looking at the printers. I went back and forth from the printers to the toner as we all know that the toner is what is the great expense not the initial printer costs. Not once in 15 minutes did anyone come over and ask if I needed help. I left that store.
Internet Provider
I called up my current provider of my internet services. I asked about the speed and size of my pipeline. They informed me I was at their fastest service available. However, when we reset the system to check and see some items, my system failed to come back up. They informed me that I did not have the right modem to support the speed I was at currently (switched to this while on line 2 years ago.)
I asked them for a credit to my account since they switched my service and never provided me with the right equipment. They gave me 6 months out of the 2 years credit of $10 per month. They would not go further back.
Competition
Companies are facing tougher times especially price wise with online retailing and services becoming more and more popular. If you are part of a retail shop today with brick and mortar stores, your customer service is the single largest differentiator you can excel at to increase your
market share.
Here are three companies that will lose my business. I can go to their stores, look and feel their limited selection and purchase elsewhere. If I do not need the look and feel, I do not need to go into their stores at all. I will buy my new laptop online and order my printer through Amazon as well. Today I will make a call to check out other internet providers.
Real Estate Agents Beware
This is true for every real estate agent as well. We provide a service for our clients. We don't provide a product. We are only as good as our last transaction. We live by different rules. We are guilty of every other real estate agent's sins our clients have been on the receiving end until we prove ourselves innocent.
For all of you who are thinking of taking a short cut and maybe not going the extra mile for any of your clients, be aware, that if you don't take care of your customers, someone else will. When you don't answer your phone, when you postpone that call, when you don't prepare for your client meeting, please remember that there is someone else out there who is willing to go that extra mile all the time for their customers. I am confident they will be more than happy to do it for yours as well.
If you are in the DFW area you can bet I will be glad to take care of your customers. My customers already know that when you work with me - Your Success is My Focus
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