Putting “Customer” in Service: A Small Business View
Three examples I’ve experienced in dealings with other businesses – large and small.
When I started my own business this year, I started looking at all the businesses that serve me and what I could learn from them.
What I soon found was:
- Basics are not basic
- Common sense is not common and
- Customer service does not always consider the customer.
The first fellow businessperson you need to engage when you set up a company is a lawyer. I had a personal lawyer who said he could handle the paperwork. So, he did. The basic fact that I failed to recognize, and the law office was not forthcoming about, was that this should NOT cost $2000. It should be more in the range of $500 (with license fees included) and can be handled by you with the help of a paralegal company. This is basic information that I should have been prepared to handle. Shame on me. Shame on my lawyer for not telling me of other options.
Just remember that sometimes people need to understand the basics of setting up a business and they may not know enough to ask.
The second thing I learned
The second thing I learned is that large companies do not understand the pressure of smaller companies trying to do business with them. The larger company often takes too long to decide, rethinks – several times — their original request of small business owners, leads the small company to provide a host of services without compensation and always takes too long to pay.
It should be common sense that small start-ups are often strapped for cash and that their payment is of utmost importance. But large companies often have 90-day windows in which to pay. So, the common sense that a small business must have is “don’t get involved with a large company unless you can afford it.” What this experience has taught me is that if I ever go back to work for a larger company, I will have a broader understanding of what it takes to deal with smaller startups.
The final, most important thing I learned, is that customer service does not always consider the customer.
Here are three examples I’ve experienced in dealings with other businesses – large and small:
- Showing up late for an appointment or canceling at the last minute.
Time is money, but often small businesses forget that making a good first impression is paramount. That first impression comes with showing up. Recently, I had a contractor agree to meet me at a particular time. I had lined up several contractors in sequential slots. This contractor had the first time slot. He didn’t show. Despite calling him 5 times in 30 minutes, leaving him text messages and even calling the person who recommended him, he did not show. I learned 2 days later that he was out of town. Must have been a place with no phones. Obviously, he didn’t get the job. He may have been the best contractor for the job, but if he couldn’t show up to talk about it, I wasn’t convinced he would show up to finish it. Canceling an appointment or phone call at the last minute is also a sign that you are less important than someone else in the eyes of the small businessperson.
Everyone understands that last-minute emergencies arise but be honest with yourself and the person you are meeting with if you must cancel a call or meeting at the last minute.
- Making the “customer” follow your rules.
Banks are the primary offenders of making customers follow their rules. When I set up my first business bank account, I signed a dozen or more papers to do so. But two days later the bank executive called to say that I had not signed a very important document (important to them). I understood, but my problem was that I had moved 150 miles away from that bank. Regardless of distance, I felt it was important to comply so the next time I was in the city with this bank, I stopped by and signed the paper. But it didn’t stop there. For two weeks after I signed, I received increasingly hostile letters threatening to cancel my account because I had not signed this document.
The explanation: “It takes us awhile to process this information.” There is no “customer” in this service. This was totally something that was required by the bank and their mistake was suddenly MY problem.
- Over running the charge for a project without warning.
As I mentioned before, start-ups are on tight budgets. They are usually either being financed by savings, a spouse, a benevolent relative or a not-so-benevolent venture capitalist. That makes spending money something that must be carefully managed. Bidding a project for a small business, getting the bid accepted and then overrunning the estimate without warning shows perhaps the most disregard for the “customer” in customer service.
All businesses should practice the mantra – no surprises. That especially means no surprises in expenses from providers to small business. But it also means “no surprises” of any kind. Keeping the customer informed is part of “customer” service.
Looking back:
As I look back over my first six months of building my consultancy practice, I am reminded of the two best sales reps I have ever known – my little sister and my D&B rep for over 20 years. Both individuals were not only dedicated to the products they sold, but each had the interest of the customer at heart always. They were ethical, responsive, attentive, knowledgeable and just plain nice people. You always knew that they had your back.
Now that I am in a smaller business (read, not corporate America), I can see how very important this service to and in support of the customer is.
Key takeaway:
So as you are starting your small business, whether it be as a personal fitness trainer, a delivery service, a makeup artist, birth coaching services, college or private school application consultant, elder companion or care provide, pet sitter, handyman, virtual assistant, graphic designer, mobile notary, rental property manager or corporate event planner, remember that putting “customer” in customer service is the most important strategy you have.
Related articles:
Customer Service Still Matters
Customer Service: Smaller Is Better
