Be Nice To Your Customers

Customer service is probably one of the most basic and fundamental qualities to have as a business. Yet many fail miserably at delivering that service.


What has inspired me to write this post was how we were talked to by a member of staff by one of the larger composite door companies in our industry. The short version of the story is that there were rather major problems with some of the door slabs we installed a few months ago. A senior sales rep cam out to see them, agreed that they were very poor and that positive action would be taken. However 48 hours after agreeing to replacing them, a snotty, arrogant, attitudal member of their office rang to say that they wouldn't be re-making them, despite the very poor nature of the product, and after a previous promise that they would be replaced.


But the thing that really put our nose out of joint was the way the office girl rang us up and told us that information. She told our office administrator the info, and was then very put out that she was put on the the proprietor to explain to him again why they weren't going to honour the agreement they made earlier.


What I fail to understand is why companies employ people like this. Staff like that can cost companies business. And to that end, we are now looking at other products on the market. The customer service has been generally poor from this company, and it's something which has made it hard to deal with them.


One of the most simple rules in business is to make sure you're nice to your customers. It can cost you otherwise, and this time, it may well have done for this company.