Why is good customer service so hard to find?

[disneysteve]

Our garage door broke on Monday. First thing yesterday morning I called the company that has done our work before. I was on hold for 5 minutes before a human picked up the phone. They were nice enough and said they'd have someone out between 11am and 1pm. Great. Can't ask for more than that. So my wife and daughter sat home and waited, and waited. At 1pm, when nobody had shown up or called, she called them. Oh, the guy was delayed. It would have been nice if he had called to tell her that.

They rescheduled for today between 11 and 1 and said we were the 2nd job on the schedule. Again, they sat home and waited. Again, nobody came. She called them a little before 1 and said the guy was pretty rude so she told him to forget it.

I called another company I found online at 12:30. A human answered the phone right away and was sweet as can be. She said they actually had a guy working in our town today and he would come by 4pm. He called 15 minutes later that he was on his way. The job was completed and he was gone by 1:30, less than an hour after I called.

Talk about a difference in customer service. You can guess which company I'll be singing the praises of and which one I'll be trashing to everyone and anyone.

Why are there so many customer service based businesses that can't seem to grasp that they need to actually provide service to their customers?

[ua_guy]

Why are there so many customer service based businesses that can't seem to grasp that they need to actually provide service to their customers?

There's a direct correlation between wages and the quality of service. A lot of the quality of service is dependent on the individual's attitude as well. It's not always the case, but most of my bad service experiences have been with people that aren't paid enough to really care about their jobs or the outcome, because their needs aren't being met elsewhere and a lot of it has to do with money.

[Fishindude77]

It's frustrating.
When you find a good one, make sure you let them know it, give them referrals, let them know you appreciate the good service, pay them promptly, and keep going back to them.

For stuff like that I never ask a price up front. Just tell them to get out here quick as you can, take care of me and treat me fair and I'll do the same for you. I think you will get much better service this way, because many of them are tired of having their time wasted by cheapskates looking for a low price.

Many of these small service type businesses are run by hands on individuals that do some of the work themselves. Most of these folks are real good technicians, but some are pretty poor business people. They tend to take real good care of their steady repeat clients, and the call ins get put on the back burner.

[disneysteve]

One issue that I've seen over the years is one big company swallowing up a lot of smaller independent companies. In the process, the personal touch gets lost and it becomes standard corporate America - phone tree, call center, subcontractors, etc. The great service still comes from the mom and pop places where the guy answering the phone is the same one hopping in the car and coming over to do the work. The problem is those places are harder and harder to find.

[Jluke]

From the business perspective, they've probably been burned so many times that they are just as skeptical of you as you are of them.

I feel like I have to actually beg some companies to come out.

One guy came out and never gave me a quote on the job.

Even Lowe's never called to set up a carpet measurement.

I've tried to give some companies additional work at a friend/relatives house but they never contact them.

Quality is always something that will never meet my expectations.

[disneysteve]

I feel like I have to actually beg some companies to come out.

I'm on the Board of our synagogue. One of our policies is to get 3 quotes for all repair or construction jobs. I can't tell you how many times we've been unable to abide by that policy because we can't find 3 people to actually return our calls, or if we do reach them, to actually show up to give us quotes. It must be nice to have so much work that you can routinely turn away customers like that.

[disneysteve]

Quality is always something that will never meet my expectations.

I don't think I'm hard to please in that department. Show up. Do the work right the first time. Clean up after yourself reasonably well. And don't rape me on the price. If all of that happens, I'm satisfied.

[greenskeeper]

I'm on the Board of our synagogue. One of our policies is to get 3 quotes for all repair or construction jobs. I can't tell you how many times we've been unable to abide by that policy because we can't find 3 people to actually return our calls, or if we do reach them, to actually show up to give us quotes. It must be nice to have so much work that you can routinely turn away customers like that.

Do you always go with the lowest quote? A lot of contractor stop giving quotes if they know they aren't or have never gotten a job from a customer. Time is money.

[disneysteve]

Do you always go with the lowest quote? A lot of contractor stop giving quotes if they know they aren't or have never gotten a job from a customer. Time is money.

No, we don't always go with the lowest. We go with what we feel is the best, just as you or I probably do at home. The lowest quote is often shoddy work or inferior materials.

If a contractor can't even be bothered to give a quote, then they have zero chance of ever getting the job.

[NormanR]

Tell me about it! Most of my recent encounters with customer service have been truly terrible. Its like talking to a robot most of the time. I've spent hours on the phone with one company in particular and got nowhere! Just ran up a huge bill to deal with at the end of the month. Why is it so difficult to find even semi decent customer care??

[pflyers85]

Obviously construction and contracting work based customer service is a bit different but in the retail world its not hard to understand why it is hard to find good customer service. UA properly points out that many customer service workers tend to be lower paid and as such their efforts will be minimal. The internet and the information available at our fingertips has changed the way we consume and do business. Years ago, pre internet you would need to talk to an expert at Sears about washing machines and other appliances because the information wasn't widely available like it is today. Today you can go online, compare features, prices, models, reviews, etc and make an informed purchase without talking to someone. This is why your middle of the road department stores and retailers are not going to invest more in employees or train better when it is much cheaper to deploy specifications, reviews, and other pertinent information online. I know some people appreciate the personal touch and attention while shopping but the vast majority of people that actually do shop brick and mortar just want to get in and get out and be on their way.

[marvholly]

Agree that pay level - most are at minimum wage - has a LOT to do w/it But also:

poor or no training
CSRs are routinly judged on the number of calls completed in a specific time range (per hour or shift) for raises/promotions

[Fishindude77]

I'm on the Board of our synagogue. One of our policies is to get 3 quotes for all repair or construction jobs. I can't tell you how many times we've been unable to abide by that policy because we can't find 3 people to actually return our calls, or if we do reach them, to actually show up to give us quotes. It must be nice to have so much work that you can routinely turn away customers like that.

My two cents worth as a builder.
I would probably politely decline quoting a job under these circumstances, because most instances like this turn into a waste of my time, and about all I get done is some unpaid consulting. I don't want to be a low bidder, I rarely am the low bidder and I don't put myself into competitive bidding scenarios if it can be avoided.

When quoting construction to individuals uneducated in construction, it turns into a lot of yea, uh-huh, head nodding, etc. when reviewing the quote and scope of work, but in the end, since they don't understand the business they almost always go back to using price as the ultimate decision factor.

Churches are some of the worst customers, because you generally have to deal with committees, and every clergy member that throws a nickle in the hat on Sunday thinks they should have a say so in the construction project.

You would have much more luck and success with your projects if you would just select a good reputable contractor and negotiate projects with them in lieu of creating a competitive bidding scenario.

[disneysteve]

My two cents worth as a builder.

I would probably politely decline quoting a job under these circumstances

I don't put myself into competitive bidding scenarios if it can be avoided.

I really appreciate this perspective but I'm baffled by how it would actually work in practice. If a potential customer calls you, do you just outright ask if he is planning on getting any other quotes? If not, how do you know if you will have any competition for the job?

Just to be clear, we don't get multiple quotes for small stuff, minor repairs, etc. We only do it for significant work or long-term contracts like landscaping, snow removal, trash pick up, etc. Stuff like that can easily be a difference of thousands and thousands of dollars per year for us. It would be fiscally irresponsible for us not to get multiple quotes.

What do you do personally at home? Do you just call the first number in the phone book and pay whatever he asks or do you shop around? When we needed a new heater last year, we called one very popular company in our area. They came out and gave us an outrageous quote. As soon as I mentioned that we were waiting on another quote, the guy's demeanor changed dramatically and he couldn't get out of the house fast enough. Needless to say, we didn't use his company. We paid over $6,000 less using an independent guy recommended by a friend in the real estate rehab business. Had we gone with the first quote, we would have thrown away a ton of money (and probably gotten worse service).

[Fishindude77]

I really appreciate this perspective but I'm baffled by how it would actually work in practice. If a potential customer calls you, do you just outright ask if he is planning on getting any other quotes? If not, how do you know if you will have any competition for the job?

Yes, part of our qualification practice is to determine if there is any competition, and if so who the competitor is. We don't mind competing against a good, qualified contractor but won't waste our time if they have us bidding against Cheap Chuck. Most of our business is negotiated with little or no competition.

Just to be clear, we don't get multiple quotes for small stuff, minor repairs, etc. We only do it for significant work or long-term contracts like landscaping, snow removal, trash pick up, etc. Stuff like that can easily be a difference of thousands and thousands of dollars per year for us. It would be fiscally irresponsible for us not to get multiple quotes.

Maybe it would be irresponsible, maybe it wouldn't? First time the snow removal guy plows up a bunch of your parking bumpers, curbs and landscaping and won't repair it, that low price doesn't look too good.

What do you do personally at home? Do you just call the first number in the phone book and pay whatever he asks or do you shop around?

At home it's easy because I have a network of folks that I know and have used for years. The phone book is about the last place I would look. Best thing to do is ask around and use folks that others have had a good experience with. Depending upon the trade, calling lumber yards and material suppliers is a great way to find out who is reliable, competent and pays their bills. They will also steer you away from the bad guys.

Believe it or not, I generally start the conversation telling them that I need someone good that I can rely on and that I'm not interested, nor do I have the time to go out shopping for other bids. They can trust me to make decisions, return their calls promptly, pay my bills on time, etc. and in return I expect them to treat me fair, price my work fair, get things done quick, clean up after themselves, cover any warranty issues, etc. Not too many guys will cheat you if you take an open, honest, mutual respect approach like that. They want to use you as a reference and they want your repeat business.