Great Customer Service

How important is great customer service to you? As wedding planning has become a second full-time job, I have really had some experiences with customer service. Some experiences were good and others were just horrible. The companies that treated me well were prompt, efficient and friendly. The companies that did not have customer service were late on orders, non-responsive on follow up and rude and unapologetic when approached.

The companies that had great customer service were that way because there were systems in place. I would send in an order, get an order confirmation and a friendly email informing me that the order was being processed. A few days later, I would get another email with a tracking number that I could click on to link to UPS or FedEx and  see exactly where my package is.

The companies that had poor customer service had trickier websites and longer waiting times. They would send me an email a few days after I placed my order, saying the order was being processed. I would then hear nothing until days later, when I  finally called to see where my order was. They would never email back right away either. Instead, it would take a couple days and often, some would say, “Oh, it’s out of stock.” Others would say it will ship in a couple of days, or the order was still being processed. The out-of-stock response just kills me. It’s like, could you perhaps let me know that before I place the order? The companies that said that it would be arriving soon would then send me an email with no link to track the package, which would finally arrive later than expected.  A couple of them even contacted me and said that they could not fulfill my request! I can’t even imagine how these companies stay in business.

Anyway, this leads me to the point that in real estate, it is highly important to provide good customer service because this directly reflects how your company operates and is viewed. Bad customer service breeds bad reviews which breeds bad business or no business. A reputation for great customer service will spread fast and serve your company well.  As real estate agents, it is extremely important to give your clients good customer service. Great customer service goes a long way!