Half the battle of getting business is just being available. Customer service is so seriously mangled in this country that just taking a phone call from a potential customer has become a legitimate differentiator between competing businesses.
I have spent that last two days just trying to get “advertised” free estimates for a roof repair and so far, only one roofing company has responded, reviewed the site and provided an estimate. Most likely this company, which has provided a pretty hefty quote, will earn my business and money because they just showed up.
After chasing and then being ignored by Collis Roofing, which appears by its website to be large, organized and customer-oriented, I’ve moved on from taking them at their word and begging them to show up for the appointment THEIR scheduling representative scheduled.
THEY said they would call 30 minutes ahead of time to announce their arrival and THEY did nothing THEY said they would do. After my nagging, they showed up, but for the wrong project. The person waiting to meet Collis’ roofers just lost four hours of time that he can’t get back. Now Collis says they will call me TOMORROW because they sent the wrong crew for this appointment. Maybe it’s the roofing industry in general; Collis isn’t the only one I’ve struggled with.
I’ve hired two staff members this year. Yes, little old me. That’s because my business is growing and growing smartly. Here’s why. Pay attention…it’s really complicated.
We respond quickly to our clients; by phone, by email, by text and even by old-fashioned faxing. Those of us who work here show up when we say we will. We call ahead if something has caused us to change plans. And then – remarkably -- we apologize and reschedule quickly. We take the call, we make the call and we show up. At this point, I think we all qualify for MENSA.