Shakermaker Promotions
09-02-2010, 10:50 PM
Hi all,
Firstly, before I go any further, I am NOT going to name or shame the company in this thread. The whole point of it is about Customer Service or lack of in this case.
I have always been a firm believer in looking after the customers as best I can. I give every single one of them 100% commitment and go all out to be as accomodating as I can. I've seen people make mistakes in the past and it's shown me how NOT to go about my business. The way I look at it is, the customer is paying my wages and that way I get to pay the bills and also live the life I lead doing a job I love...sounds obvious but it's so true.
Anyway....a bit of background for you.
When I started out on my own, I did what most of us probably did and sounded out the competition (I don't like using that word) by doing a bit of 'Market Research'. I called and emailed a number of other Disco suppliers with enquiries for functions. The ones that I didn't actually speak to, I emailed. Of the ones that I spoke to, a couple were quite helpful, a couple were straight down the line and more or less said "My price is £***" and then there was a pause. There was no passion or even trying to sell themselves to me. One company were very helpful (I've not seen them on this forum before) and it was a very informative and interesting conversation. I have even used some of the lines in my own conversations with customers and it has helped me.
Sadly, one company (who I will not name but who DO post on this forum), was....well....almost rude. It felt as if they were doing me a favour by bothering to speak to me. I won't go too over the top but I got off the phone from them and a number of expletives came out of my mouth because it had wound me up so much. That name stuck in my head at the time and that was around 5 years ago now. I thought the 'customer service' was disgusting to be totally honest with you.
So, sometime last year (I can't remember when it was exactly), I had a bit of a problem with a booking. My other DJ came down with a virus and couldn't work for me. It was a wedding if I remember correctly. I called a number of people I know (a few from here aswell) but no'one was available. I thought to myself that I would grin and bare it and give the company with the rubbish customer service a call. Knowing that they have lots of DJ's, I thought that they would be able to help.....I was silly.
I called them and the voice on the end of the phone was pleasant enough at the beginning of the call. When they realised that I was not a customer but another Disco supplier, their attitude changed completely...no joke. I was spoken to like an idiot, as if I was stupid. I told the person on the other end of the phone that I was trying to give them a job that I couldn't do. Our prices were around the same yet I was shouted at down the phone that VAT would need to be added to it. It wasn't a problem for me as I would've paid the whole thing myself to get the booking covered but it seemed like the company in question simply didn't want to know. I was in conversation and ready to agree to pay up when the other person said "I have to go" and put the phone down on me!
Again, the name stuck in my head and I said to myself "Never again". I ended up getting someone to do the function via someone on here thankfully.
This morning I received a call from a customer regarding a booking in the next few months. The guy was very complimentary towards me as I gave him the usual stuff over the phone. He mentioned in his call that he was looking for quotations and had called various Disco suppliers. Some weren't answering the phone but a couple had and the quotes he had received were ok. He mentioned the company (who I am not naming remember) and said that their quote was fine but he didn't know whether to go ahead and book with them so he was calling around to see what others could do....hence his call to me.
By the end of the call he told me that he would like to book me and some extra services and that he would get straight back to the other company and say that he was not going to book with them. He also mentioned something about their figures being wrong with regards to the added VAT and was going to question them on it....(I didn't understand that bit :confused: ). I took all the details, emailed him a confirmed quotation, got his reply email, did the booking forms and then posted them immediately.
Just before I went off to darts earlier this evening, he called me again. He said "Just thought I would let you know how I got on with **************" (because I had mentioned that they were on a forum I go on). He said that he was very angry with them. He questioned their calculations as he said he would do and whoever he spoke to said "Sorry about that, ***** isn't good with figures!" (how silly is that?). He said he had also received an email from them saying that he was a time waster, a pain and that they couldn't believe that he would go with another company (namely ME!) when they had given him an acceptable quotation. I asked if they had been negative towards me and my business and he said no, they had put my name in brackets. If they had of been then I would've had no hesitation whatsoever in naming and shaming them on here and I would probably have been banned for doing so.
At the end of the day, it seems to me that this particular company have either no people skills, customer service or both. I've witnessed it myself and now a customer has told me too. The customer (who is MY customer now...sorry) commented that I came across as much more personal.
Customer Service IS important and I can't see how some people/companies forget that. You get bad customer service and you remember it just the same as you do when you get good customer service. I could be in the biggest strop in the world but if that phone rings and it's an enquiry, I will always turn on the personal service and no'one knows (I'll expect loads of mystery enquirers now trying to catch me out ;) ). Maybe it's a case of standards dropping because certain business' get too big or take on too much...who knows? All I know is, there a number of other suppliers that I would recommend (and I DO recommend them) but there is one at the top of my list now that I wouldn't dare recommend.
My apologies to anyone that thinks I may be out of order on this. I haven't named any names and it could be anyone on here. The whole point of it is to say that Customer Service counts for a lot. Not just getting the job but from start to finish.
Firstly, before I go any further, I am NOT going to name or shame the company in this thread. The whole point of it is about Customer Service or lack of in this case.
I have always been a firm believer in looking after the customers as best I can. I give every single one of them 100% commitment and go all out to be as accomodating as I can. I've seen people make mistakes in the past and it's shown me how NOT to go about my business. The way I look at it is, the customer is paying my wages and that way I get to pay the bills and also live the life I lead doing a job I love...sounds obvious but it's so true.
Anyway....a bit of background for you.
When I started out on my own, I did what most of us probably did and sounded out the competition (I don't like using that word) by doing a bit of 'Market Research'. I called and emailed a number of other Disco suppliers with enquiries for functions. The ones that I didn't actually speak to, I emailed. Of the ones that I spoke to, a couple were quite helpful, a couple were straight down the line and more or less said "My price is £***" and then there was a pause. There was no passion or even trying to sell themselves to me. One company were very helpful (I've not seen them on this forum before) and it was a very informative and interesting conversation. I have even used some of the lines in my own conversations with customers and it has helped me.
Sadly, one company (who I will not name but who DO post on this forum), was....well....almost rude. It felt as if they were doing me a favour by bothering to speak to me. I won't go too over the top but I got off the phone from them and a number of expletives came out of my mouth because it had wound me up so much. That name stuck in my head at the time and that was around 5 years ago now. I thought the 'customer service' was disgusting to be totally honest with you.
So, sometime last year (I can't remember when it was exactly), I had a bit of a problem with a booking. My other DJ came down with a virus and couldn't work for me. It was a wedding if I remember correctly. I called a number of people I know (a few from here aswell) but no'one was available. I thought to myself that I would grin and bare it and give the company with the rubbish customer service a call. Knowing that they have lots of DJ's, I thought that they would be able to help.....I was silly.
I called them and the voice on the end of the phone was pleasant enough at the beginning of the call. When they realised that I was not a customer but another Disco supplier, their attitude changed completely...no joke. I was spoken to like an idiot, as if I was stupid. I told the person on the other end of the phone that I was trying to give them a job that I couldn't do. Our prices were around the same yet I was shouted at down the phone that VAT would need to be added to it. It wasn't a problem for me as I would've paid the whole thing myself to get the booking covered but it seemed like the company in question simply didn't want to know. I was in conversation and ready to agree to pay up when the other person said "I have to go" and put the phone down on me!
Again, the name stuck in my head and I said to myself "Never again". I ended up getting someone to do the function via someone on here thankfully.
This morning I received a call from a customer regarding a booking in the next few months. The guy was very complimentary towards me as I gave him the usual stuff over the phone. He mentioned in his call that he was looking for quotations and had called various Disco suppliers. Some weren't answering the phone but a couple had and the quotes he had received were ok. He mentioned the company (who I am not naming remember) and said that their quote was fine but he didn't know whether to go ahead and book with them so he was calling around to see what others could do....hence his call to me.
By the end of the call he told me that he would like to book me and some extra services and that he would get straight back to the other company and say that he was not going to book with them. He also mentioned something about their figures being wrong with regards to the added VAT and was going to question them on it....(I didn't understand that bit :confused: ). I took all the details, emailed him a confirmed quotation, got his reply email, did the booking forms and then posted them immediately.
Just before I went off to darts earlier this evening, he called me again. He said "Just thought I would let you know how I got on with **************" (because I had mentioned that they were on a forum I go on). He said that he was very angry with them. He questioned their calculations as he said he would do and whoever he spoke to said "Sorry about that, ***** isn't good with figures!" (how silly is that?). He said he had also received an email from them saying that he was a time waster, a pain and that they couldn't believe that he would go with another company (namely ME!) when they had given him an acceptable quotation. I asked if they had been negative towards me and my business and he said no, they had put my name in brackets. If they had of been then I would've had no hesitation whatsoever in naming and shaming them on here and I would probably have been banned for doing so.
At the end of the day, it seems to me that this particular company have either no people skills, customer service or both. I've witnessed it myself and now a customer has told me too. The customer (who is MY customer now...sorry) commented that I came across as much more personal.
Customer Service IS important and I can't see how some people/companies forget that. You get bad customer service and you remember it just the same as you do when you get good customer service. I could be in the biggest strop in the world but if that phone rings and it's an enquiry, I will always turn on the personal service and no'one knows (I'll expect loads of mystery enquirers now trying to catch me out ;) ). Maybe it's a case of standards dropping because certain business' get too big or take on too much...who knows? All I know is, there a number of other suppliers that I would recommend (and I DO recommend them) but there is one at the top of my list now that I wouldn't dare recommend.
My apologies to anyone that thinks I may be out of order on this. I haven't named any names and it could be anyone on here. The whole point of it is to say that Customer Service counts for a lot. Not just getting the job but from start to finish.