no sale for you
As we come out of the holiday shopping season I am once again reminded, all too painfully, about the lack of customer service that exists in the world today. I have noticed a steady downward trend for years now and I see no signs of it improving. No one in the service industry seems to care. Recently I was attempting to have a twenty page brochure printed for Red Photo. I called several printers. Most of them never returned my call or quoted me crazy prices or wanted to change everything. I had just about given up when I forced myself to try one more lead. And that was a good lead. I have had run ins recently with at least two vendors that provided no service, did not answer my emails for days, and then gave me lots of excuses. Neither of them offered to make things right. Neither of them were that apologetic. The message was loud and clear, “We don’t need you. We don’t care about your business.” I think that it is time for the consumer to stand up and demand better service. Do not do business with companies or individuals who don’t treat you right. They are not doing you a favor. So if you don’t like the service somewhere don’t patronize them. I have sent back several items because of poor service. Don’t let businesses off the hook if they are not providing good customer service. Let them know they stink. Send them emails. Call them. Don’t just stop using them without letting them know, because then they will never change their ways.
In my photography business, Red Photo, we always go out of our way to provide excellent service to our customers. If something is not right we make it right and we stand behind it. So I would like to offer a few points for everyone to think about so that we can all be better at helping others.
1. Return all calls and emails within 24 hours, no excuses
If you are going to be in business, or want to be a professional, or just treat your friends and family better, get back to people in a timely manner. There is no excuse for this. If your business is getting too many calls and emails for you to answer within 24 hours, don’t make excuses or tell people it will take some time to answer them. Solve the problem, get more help, get back to people. And automated responses don’t count.
2. Listen to your clients
Stop talking so much and listen to your clients. They can teach you alot. This goes for your personal life too. Shut up every once in a while and respectfully listen. Yeah that means you have to stop texting or checking your Facebook and actually pay attention to someone other than yourself. I cannot believe how rude and insensitive people have become. It is like the ‘me’ generation on steroids. No one cares that you are at Starbucks or buying lunch somewhere. Really.
3. Be realistic in what you promise
If you cannot deliver it then don’t promise it. Good customer service means delivering on all of your promises. No excuses. We do not want to hear them. Promise less, then be a hero when you deliver early or give someone more than they expect. This idea of ‘overdelivering’ can really boost a business.
4. Provide service because you want to
Don’t do these nicey nice things because someone says you have to in order to get more business. You should do these things because you want to and you want to be a better business and a better person in general.
So I am starting out the new year with a rant and I think that it is good. The beginning of the year is a time for change. Demand what you want in 2011 and make sure that you get it.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
No related posts.
3 Trackbacks
[...] Many people have become obsessed, and that is the proper term, with social media. They are constantly checking in and giving updates, opinions, and their location. Many times they feel very connected because they have so many followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook. But are they really connected and popular? It brings up some interesting points to think about now as media and the way that people interact is changing. I think that there is still a great deal of value in personal meetings and building relationships in the real world, face-to-face. I think that service is still very important. For more on this read my post ‘What Ever Happened to Customer Service?‘ [...]
[...] service that I see occurring around us every day. You can read this little rant in my post ‘What Ever Happened to Customer Service?‘ I really think that service is the cornerstone to any successful business, whether it is a [...]
[...] about what we are buying and what we are getting. I wrote about customer service recently in ‘What Ever Happened to Customer Service?‘ So when it comes to photography please look for good work by a competent professional that [...]