Most service professionals I meet say referrals are the biggest source of new business. Yet, many refererred customers are lost due to poor customer service skills.
Last week, I decided to find a plumber to fix a couple of pesky leaks. I went to a great referral guide that my outstanding realtor put together of various home service providers. I left messages for two plumbers. After waiting a couple of days without hearing anything, I called both plumbers back and left messages. Once again, nobody bothered to return my calls.
Out of frustration, I called my realtor and asked for a plumber who might actually return a phone call. He referred me to a plumbing company that actually answered the phone. With little delay, they sent out a knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient plumber to solve our problem. So far, so good.
A week later, we received a bill for the plumber's service. Instead of being charged for the one hour that the plumber worked, the invoice was for two hours of labor. Okay, I thought, this must be an administrative mistake. I called the company to straighten out the error, but Bill in accounts receivable wasn't available to take my call. I left a message. Two days later, after not hearing from Bill, I called again and left another a message. Another two days passed and still no word from elusive Bill. On my third call, I got Bill. I explained the problem. He said that we were charged for travel time that the plumber shouldn't have included, and that he would take one hour off the bill. Although he was quite friendly, I put down the phone wondering whether that's how they treat other customers. If so, how could they possibly stay in business?
No amount of good buzz from your customers can stop the bad buzz from poor service.
Comments