The Key to Great Customer Service: Follow-Up

How do you feel when…

…a week after your car has been repaired, you get a call from the service manager just to make sure everything is okay?

…the evening after your medical procedure, you get a call from your doctor just to check up on you?

…hours after going out for dinner, you get a questionnaire by email from the restaurant inviting your feedback and suggestions?

Some business people tell me that’s looking for trouble. I disagree. I think it’s looking for loyalty, satisfaction, and repeat business.

If follow-up turns up a lot of dissatisfaction, you need to make some changes. But good follow-up is the key. Because if you don’t hear about the dissatisfaction, then you’ll never have the opportunity to make those changes.

How do you feel when…

…you get a thank-you note from the clothing store a few days after buying a new suit?

…you get a birthday card from your insurance agent?

…you get a gift certificate for a free dinner as a thank-you from a hotel chain?

…you get a personalized luggage tag in the mail as a gift from your travel agent?

Recognition and appreciation can be very powerful, and very inexpensive as a marketing strategy. It’s a wise investment.

It’s true that follow-up and follow-through may reveal some inadequacies in your business. The key, however, is leveraging those discoveries as impetus for improvement.

Every business, no matter how well managed, will have to deal with dissatisfied customers from time to time. Sometimes, those complaints are justified. Sometimes, they aren’t. But learning how to handle honest feedback, even dissatisfaction, can have far reaching impact.

At Bigfoot Crane, our motto is legendary service, and our goal is always a remarkable customer experience.

Thank you for reading.

Gerry L. Wiebe, CSPC
Marketing Manager
Bigfoot Crane