What do you do when you are faced with a customer crisis?
This past week, I had one of the worst customer experiences of my life. I've been in the process of packing and moving to North Carolina. In June, I contacted several movers and was very specific about my needs. After evaluating the qualifications of several moving companies, I chose my mover. The sales representative and I had several conversations along the way and each time I re-iterated my specific needs.
On the day of the move, the nightmare began. I received a call from the driver first thing in the morning and he told me he would be at my house around 10 am. At 10 am, he called and it was at this time I learned that the wrong size truck was sent (or at least I thought it was the wrong size truck). As the day progressed, I was told that I had to pay $1,500 more for the move than originally planned or "find another mover." Find another mover!! I plead my case telling them what the sales representative had promised and my words went unheeded. They held me hostage on the day of my move for $1,500 additional. My only choice was to agree to pay the charge.
If this were your business what would you have done as the owner?
I will tell you what I would have done and what I have done in the past with my clients. I would have honored the promises of my sales representative and ate the additional cost myself. When you have someone representing your company in the field, it is very important to train them on all the aspects of your business. They should also know never to promise anything of which they are unsure. Regardless, when they make a promise to a customer, it is now your responsibility to follow through on that promise.
Now the moving industry is notorious for the bait and switch. I've heard countless stories of how people were told one thing and then all their belongings were held hostage as the movers told them they owed several thousand more. This moving company has the opportunity to far excel above the competition by going against the industry norm. Maybe if they instituted a policy where their sales representatives were penalized when an estimate is grossly underestimated, they wouldn't be so quick to price the job at whatever it takes to get the job.
When I first started out in business, I made a mistake on one of my customer's mailings. I normally have the customer proof a project, but this particular time, my customer was not available. When the mailing went out, we realized that I used the wrong phone number. Oh, the horror! I immediately contacted my client and told him I would pay for the first mailing as well as the cover the cost for designing, printing, and mailing a new postcard. In the end, I was faced with a $1,000 bill instead of being paid for my work. To me, it was the cost of doing excellent business. Why should my customer suffer for my mistake? To this day, this customer is still one of my best.
So, as I end this post, I ask again... What do you do when you are faced with a customer crisis?
On the day of the move, the nightmare began. I received a call from the driver first thing in the morning and he told me he would be at my house around 10 am. At 10 am, he called and it was at this time I learned that the wrong size truck was sent (or at least I thought it was the wrong size truck). As the day progressed, I was told that I had to pay $1,500 more for the move than originally planned or "find another mover." Find another mover!! I plead my case telling them what the sales representative had promised and my words went unheeded. They held me hostage on the day of my move for $1,500 additional. My only choice was to agree to pay the charge.
If this were your business what would you have done as the owner?
I will tell you what I would have done and what I have done in the past with my clients. I would have honored the promises of my sales representative and ate the additional cost myself. When you have someone representing your company in the field, it is very important to train them on all the aspects of your business. They should also know never to promise anything of which they are unsure. Regardless, when they make a promise to a customer, it is now your responsibility to follow through on that promise.
Now the moving industry is notorious for the bait and switch. I've heard countless stories of how people were told one thing and then all their belongings were held hostage as the movers told them they owed several thousand more. This moving company has the opportunity to far excel above the competition by going against the industry norm. Maybe if they instituted a policy where their sales representatives were penalized when an estimate is grossly underestimated, they wouldn't be so quick to price the job at whatever it takes to get the job.
When I first started out in business, I made a mistake on one of my customer's mailings. I normally have the customer proof a project, but this particular time, my customer was not available. When the mailing went out, we realized that I used the wrong phone number. Oh, the horror! I immediately contacted my client and told him I would pay for the first mailing as well as the cover the cost for designing, printing, and mailing a new postcard. In the end, I was faced with a $1,000 bill instead of being paid for my work. To me, it was the cost of doing excellent business. Why should my customer suffer for my mistake? To this day, this customer is still one of my best.
So, as I end this post, I ask again... What do you do when you are faced with a customer crisis?
posted by Anne Lazo at
7:06 AM
