Everybody Wants Business, But . . .
by Stanley Bronstein on July 3, 2009Everybody wants business, but few are willing to do what it takes when it actually walks in the door.
Case In Point
The air conditioner in my wife’s car went out this afternoon, about 2:00 PM on July 3, 2009 (the day before the July 4th US holiday).
We took my wife’s car to our normal repair shop. They diagnosed the problem and said the part couldn’t EVEN BE ORDERED until Monday as everyone had already closed down for the long holiday weekend (never mind the fact it hadn’t started yet).
Then, they said assuming the part was ordered on Monday, it wouldn’t be delivered until Wednesday, at the earliest, and the car could be fixed next Thursday. That’s nearly one week after going in with the problem.
I called another repair shop and they said basically the same thing, except they said they couldn’t even look at the car until Monday as all their repairmen had already gone home for the holiday.
This Irks Me
I had a conversation with the first repair shop about a month ago and they told me their business was down. I’m sure if you called the car parts supplier they used, they would also say their business is down. If you called the second repair shop (who happened to be the Toyota dealer), they would say their business is down.
So why is everybody turning away the work by making someone wait days to get their air conditioner fixed in the middle of a Phoenix, Arizona summer where the average daily afternoon temperature is between 105 and 110 degrees fahrenheit ???
Honestly, my biggest gripe is that the part couldn’t even be ordered today as everyone had already gone home. Basically, I had to lose 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) because someone couldn’t make a phone call to a company that couldn’t take the phone call as they’d already gone home.
What My Father Taught Me
My father taught me, while he was alive, that one should NEVER turn away good business. Someone should do whatever it takes to get it done for the client.
Please understand. I do realize that I am my own boss (and own my own business) and what I’m willing to do might be a little different than what a car repair shop could do when they have to rely on their employees who are not owners of the business.
I just know that it’s 4:20 PM right now before the holiday weekend and if a new client walked in the door with something that HAD TO BE DONE immediately, I would drop what I’m doing and make sure it gets done immediately. My clients know they can depend on me, that’s why they keep coming back.
Why? Because I want the business and I appreciate my customers, that’s why, especially in light of the current economic client in the United States and around the world. America needs to become excellent again and this is a typical example of where we could start.
Additional Reading
Laws Of Positioning #3 – Position Yourself To Be Appreciative
Laws Of Positioning #10 – Position Yourself To Be Caring
Laws Of Positioning #23 – Position Yourself To Be Dependable
Laws Of Positioning #33 – Position Yourself To Be Excellent
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Until next time, take care.
Stanley F. BronsteinHave you checked out my website that profiles the benefits of walking? iWarriorWalk.com
July 20th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I agree that you should definitely go out of your way to help your customers because it just shows that your business is a business of providing service, not selectively dealing it out.
If it was the owner or part-owner of the shop that refused to order the part for you… then that doesn’t sound like a very good business-man, and I hate to see where his business ends up eventually.
If it was simply an employee, well, that’s to be expected I guess–but remember, learn to appreciate all situations, even good and bad!
Thanks for the great post, by the way. Being self-employed, I can always use a reminder for smart business tactics–even if they are just refreshers of what I already believed to be true.