There is a deficit in excellent customer service these days. 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience, according to a recent American Express survey. I realize that the level of customer service does vary from industry to industry, but it seems the expectations are pretty low nowadays. This is so unfortunate, I can’t even think of where to start…well, I can start with my last phone call.
This morning, as I was listening to voicemail, I noticed a message from Jim. He sounded very monotone and matter-of-fact, basically not enthusiastic at all. I called him right away because I wanted to see why he left the message in manner that he did. Jim was very pleasant, but his expectations of what was about to proceed caused him to be guarded. Clearly, he had a bad experience in the past. When he detailed his prior experience with the power washing industry, I could see why he wasn’t initially vested in the conversation. Last fall, Jim called three different power washing companies, and all three failed him! One company never returned the call, the second never showed up after scheduling work, and the third made every excuse in the book as to why they couldn’t do the job. He gave up. So trying this spring came with low expectations, very low!
I walked Jim through the process and answered all of his questions. I didn’t even give him a price before he energetically said, “I want to schedule.” I told him that I was eager to show him that he could expect excellent customer service from a power washing company. Jim was thrilled that I challenged him to raise his expectations. No excuses and no broken promises. Sure, keeping the bar low is easy, but it’s not the right thing to do. I care about making the sale, sure, but I am concerned more about making my industry better. I deeply care about creating the best customer experience around. Restoring faith through our customer-centric approach is our daily business at Pristine Clean. With organic A+ ratings on BBB, Google, and Angie’s List, you can tell we mean we are serious about restoring excellent customer service.