2.12.2009

How Do You Treat Your Customers?

I stopped by my sister's office briefly tonight before I came home to give her some papers she needed. She has owned her own business for over 20 years now; she is an award winning Certified Professional Resume Writer and has been published in numerous books. In June of 2008 her husband retired with 30 years of service as the Director of Printing at Ohio University. Since he was only 48 he wasn't really ready to "retire," so they expanded part of my sister's business that already existed under a seperate name from the resume writing service. They do custom printed clothing, promotional products of all kinds, engraving, trophies, plaques, banners and lots of other fun stuff!!

As I was in her office, a customer came in to pick up his order. My sister had just shared his story with me before he came in to the office. He'd stopped by their office earlier in the day as he was upset with a nationally known company that he'd went to here in our town to get some work done for his business he is starting. He explained to my sister that the magnetic signs he got from this company were the wrong type of magnet and caused damage to his truck when he tried to take them off. While the damage was minor, it was still a major problem and this company basically took an "i don't care" attitude with him. They offered no compensation, no refund on the defective product...they did nothing! So as he was leaving town very upset, he drove past my sister's office and decided to stop to see if they could help him with the right type of magnetic signs for his truck.

My sister assured him that they could provide him with the right type of sign for his truck and that they could have it for him later in the afternoon. And while he was in their office, he discovered they could also do his business cards for him. He left their office a happy man and returned in the late afternoon to pick up his signs and business cards and was thrilled.

He thanked my sister over and over again for the wonderful customer service they provided and said he would definitely be back to order some other things from them. He also said that he would be telling other people about their business.

BINGO!!! Just what every business owner wants to hear! A customer that is happy and goes out and tells everyone else about your business...some of the best advertising you can get and it is FREE!

Taking care of our customers is extremely important. We all know this as business owners because without them...we don't have a business! :-) As small business owners, its even more important that we go out of our way to take care of our customers and make them feel special and encourage them to return to our business and also tell others about our business. And taking care of them doesn't always mean giving them something extra, it can simply be a smile or a friendly email that let's them know you appreciate them and want them to be completely satisfied with their purchase!

So let this be a friendly reminder to you...take care of your customers! Show them why dealing with a small business is a good thing! We never know when the "big guys" might mess up and we might have to clean up after them!

Until next time ~ Blessings! ~ Dawn

6 comments:

  1. Loved your post today...if your take care of your customers you are taking care of your business. Sometimes in the rush of the day people tend to overlook the customers wishes...this is a good reminder for all small and large business owners. Thank you for posting this....

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  2. Great story : ) I agree with having the best customer service possible. I love shopping where people are willing to help me and are friendly. Even when prices might be a little bit higher, it's worth it for the customer service.

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  3. Very true of all relationships in life. Very nice story.

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  4. Great post!! I just came across your blog...love it!

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  5. oh so true- your time and personal touch are always the most valuable gifts to customers, friends or family

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