@ACRNEditor The first step
’ve talked before about the importance of customer service, and much has been spoken about going that extra mile. But I had cause to think about taking the first step recently. I needed a sink replaced in my bathroom and I needed an installer. An emergency buy, because who knew that a fumbled perfume bottle could shatter a ceramic sink?
I
First stop was a tradesman locator website. Apparently it doesn’t work at the beginning of the year as I was promised many results, and received regular updates informing me they were still looking, but no actual tradesmen. So taking to the yellow directory, I called around the surprisingly extensive list, and narrowed down prospectives by process of elimination.
Many didn’t answer the phone for a start. Some had answering machines but most didn’t call back. Some could do the job but purported to be snowed under until March, and most of those I had conversations with were uninterested and gave over the phone quotes which varied from the smallest lottery win all the way up to five numbers plus the bonus ball.
Four offered to visit, assess the job, then quote, and one of those four give me a ball park quote that was more or less the same as the down payment for a brand new sports coupe.
Out of the three who came, the first was more interested in his phone - he spent twenty minutes in my house and in that time took two phones calls, and sent at least three texts. As he charged by the hour, I could visualise the hours racking up.
Having had the conversation over the phone with the second chap - supposedly the best in the area - where I had detailed the job, and he had given me an acceptable ball park idea of cost, I was a little bemused that upon seeing my bathroom, he decided that I needed the pipes redoing, a new bath, shower and loo, and he’d tile the lot, all for the very low price of a second mortgage. When I said I only wanted the sink done, he advised that a job that small would have to fit around bigger jobs and wait til March. But if I wanted the whole thing done, then next week would be good. Now, this last man wasn’t perfect. He was inexperienced, he knew he had the skills but wasn’t confident with them. He
was just starting out in his second career and was anxious to build a client base. He turned up in half a suit - jeans and work boots with shirt, tie and jacket - and a notebook. He took notes. He took pictures of the sink and its pipework. He made suggestions about other things I might like done at the same time, but when I said no, that was okay too. He gave me a quote that was around what I expected, and arranged a time a few days later to do the work.
How he got the work done is another story, but suffice to say, he did a good job and I will without a doubt hire him again.
Customer service is about people dealing with people, and it doesn’t matter whether the customer is a consumer, a small corner shop or a mighty conglomerate, it should be a part of business from the very first contact. It’s not something to be trotted out when something goes wrong. Finally, the ACR News Awards is on 26 February with the wonderful Jimmy Carr. Make sure you book your ticket, and I’ll see you there! Lynn Sencicle Editor
Comment 17
Fujitsu Air Conditioning
infinitely reliable, infinitely
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