Acrylic Prints with Great Customer Service
I hadn’t planned to write a post today but a recent phone call inspired me to share my thoughts on customer service.
At Big Acrylic, we enjoy speaking with our customers. Whether it’s to provide simple information to a potential customer, go over the specifics of an order, or answer questions for a customer on a limited budget; we’re glad to help anyone who reaches out for assistance. Even though we provide a wealth of information on our website, sometimes customers need to get their specific questions answered by a member of our knowledgeable staff, and we’re always happy to help.
A few weeks ago, we got in touch with a company that offers a special application we use on our acrylics. The exact service they provide isn’t important, what’s important is the way our communication was handled by the company’s staff. The person I spoke to was pleasant and responded kindly to my questions. During the call, she even offered free shipping for all of our orders. Pleased with the call, and optimistic about doing business with them, I placed an order. After I placed the order, I noticed a charge for shipping costs. I assumed it was an oversight and didn’t raise the issue. I planned to do a great deal of business with the company and assumed the problem would be remedied on subsequent orders.
The next day, the product arrived. I was impressed by the speedy delivery and looked forward to fitting the application to our product. The application was almost perfect, but there were minor defects that would need to be addressed. I called again and this time reached an associate driving in his car. The poor reception made it impossible to relay the message with the detail necessary to fix the issue. Because I was so impressed with the courtesy shown during the first call and the speed of delivery, I decided to move ahead with a larger order to do more testing.
Upon delivery, I again noticed problems getting the product to fit perfectly. I emailed the company and later called again to get the matter resolved. To my dismay, the associate who was so helpful during the first call was anything but this time.
“Didn’t you already contact my husband about this?” she asked abruptly, “Why are you calling again?”
I explained that I needed more information and needed to provide further instructions to perfect the order.
The lady, still audibly annoyed, then asked, “Didn’t someone respond to you?”
At this point, I began to think about the manner in which we handle customer service at Big Acrylic. I expressed to her that we’d be out of business if we treated our customers the way she was treating me.
“We don’t need customers like you,” she snapped before ending the call.
Our Promise at Big Acrylic
My unfortunate experience dealing with this company reinforced my dedication to quality customer service. At Big Acrylic, we follow three basic rules in customer care:
- The customer is always right.
- We treat every customer with the utmost respect – regardless of the size of their order.
- The only way to stay in business is to live up to high standards of helpful and courteous customer service.
Perhaps the lady on the other end of the phone was having a bad day. But the interaction serves as a reminder that, regardless of the circumstances, it’s never a good business idea to lack great customer service.
