Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

I have been on a roller coaster of customer service experiences the past 3 days, and I can safely report that of 3 major companies that I have dealt with one company that has no concept of much I am being inconvenienced as long as they are happy with the experience, another that wanted to just end the call as quickly as possible without a resolution although another person there performed very well when I gave them a second chance, and a third that got it right the first time.

We work in a service business. even though we might offer aproduct or deal in one also, we are in the service business. We are in sales, but we are in service. We are in retail, but we are in service.

So, on Saturday and Sunday, I spent nearly 2 hours with one company answering a battery of questions and trying every conceivable solution before they finally agreed that it was a part issue - a position I have been arguing since October. Before allowing themselves to come to this conclusion, I had to talk to and rehash my situation with 3 different people. of course, each of them had to try their own little approach - all to no avail. In the end, they got paid a salary for talking to me - the same as they would have been oaid regardless of who they talked with. I spent 2 hours of my time just to satify theuir curiosity. In the end the part has been shipped, and I may have it repaired by Saturday - over a week after the initial conversation.

On Saturday and Sunday, I also talked to another company about a similar issue on another product. The first person was so intent on reading the manual to me and not listening that I had to end the call. The second person was more polite but did not care to listen to me or to demonstrate any patience. It was as if they were being paid piece work and had to get to another call. That call ended with an attempted upsell to paid support.

Later, I talked with a person who was pleasant and patient. She handled my issue and resolved it in less than 10 minutes.

Today, I had to change flight reservations on USAir, and the person I talked to was great. She accommodated my needs and made helpful suggestions. All of this on the initial call.

So there we have it, three companies, three days, and three different outcomes and experiences.

It amazes me how companies feign an interest in customer service by recording calls and sending out lame surveys when their actions speak so much louder.

Remember that above all we are in the service business.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

I got my oil changed at Walmart a few days ago, and today I noticed that there was a small puddle of oil under my vehicle. I crawled underneath to have a look and determined that it was coming from the oil filter. That could bmean that the oil filter had a small puncture, that it was not installed tight enough, or that it was cross-threaded.

I called the service department and got the manager. We discussed it briefly and he said it was safe tor me to drive it back in.

Here's where it gets good. When I arrived, they were literally expecting me. There were lines of 3-4 cars each in 3 lanes, but they recognized my vehicle from what the manager had told them and took me right away.

Extremely courteous and helpful service. Turns out the filter was just loose. They installed a new filter and refilled the oil. I was on my way in no time.

What could have been a day-killer was no big deal. Thanks, Walmart automotive. I'll be back.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Customer service, customer relations, and customer satisfaction are three topics that are often discussed here on Active Rain, and there is even a discussion group called "Customer Service" that Robert Swetz created - as a forum for talking about or reporting various incidents of poor customer service.

I have written several posts in the past on my experiences. Here is another.

I had an experience yesterday where the manager genuinely was concerned about the poor performance of her employees and made no excuses. She actually was was sympathetic to my side of the story and invited me to meet with her on my next visit to her store.

I feel that if more companies - Realtors, builders, retailers, or whatever - were more proactive about creating an effective customer experience that there would be more satifaction, more referals, and virtually no complaints.

Rather than repost more about what I'm thinking and how I feel it should be a corporate paradigm, you can listen to my 5:36 minute audio blog (podcast) that I recorded and posted earlier today on Steve Hoffacker's Happenings called "Customer Relations."

Without the customer, there is no business.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com  for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings . © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

When are companies going to realize that they are setting customer relations back immeasurably by insisting on using these insipid electronic screening scenarios?

First, it takes way too long. Second, my issue ususally is "other." Third, the machine usually can't understand me and I have to repeat myself several times. Fourth, when the systems do allow it, I usually just punch the "0" 3 or 4 times and that ends this nonsense and puts me in queue for a live person.

End result - I wasted my time, I became frustrated talking to a machine that couldn't understand me, and I'm already irritated before I even talk to anyone. This is how to foster good customer relations?

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com  for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings . © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Question: when is a direct flight not as advertised? Answer: when it's US Airways flight 904 from West Palm Beach to Chicago.

Flight 904 leaves West Palm Beach and lands in Charlotte. Flight 904 then continues to Chicago. Seems like you'd stay on the same plane - unless you wanted to deplane briefly while they serviced the plane.

What it seems and what actually happens are not the same. Upon checking in online, it shows landing at one gate in Charlotte and departing from another gate - really begs the question of a through flight and really makes the issue of specifically choosing a flight that did not require a plane change moot.

Asked the US Air people in West Palm Beach about this - no, a plane change is not required. Fine. Land in Charlotte, and it is.

So, why have 2 segments of a flight, both with the same number (as if one is the continuation of the other) when clearly they are operated as 2 distinct flights?

It turns out that the gates weren't even close to each other - C17 to B1 - and used up all the layover time just walking from one to the other.

And another thing, suppose you had put your unaccompanied child on this flight because they didn't have to change planes and you would have peace of mind in knowing this? Or suppose you or a relative needed transportation assistance to get from one plane to another (but you didn't concern yourself with requesting a wheelchair because there was no plane change - you thought) and suddenly learned that you were being dumped off your plane?

US Airways really goofed on this one, and it would be great to see them advertise what they actually deliver - so we could make alternate plans.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday I told you about the serious marketing mistakes that my local AT&T store made during the rollout of the new Apple iPhone yesterday.

From what I garnered from news reports on the local late news last night, the event went smoothly other places in our area.

In the mall stores in our area - while people reported standing in line for up to 5 hours - people were inside out of the sun, in air conditioning, able to sit down, and able to leave the line to go to the restroom or get a refreshment from any of the mall vendors. We sure did miss the mark there.

Even personnel at other AT&T stores were interviewed and they commented on how smoothly the day had gone.

Clearly a case of poor management at the local store level.

What is that about one bad apple? Wow.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

I opened my new, reformatted, supposedly-improved, larger-than-ever, phone bill from AT&T.

I fail to see how a larger bill format - at who knows how much staff time and expense to produce, including a specially sized envelope to mail it in - is going to endear them to me, cause me use their services more, or forget about all of the mistakes they have made - like charging me to reconnect my service that they erroneously moved to another location or waitng 6 months to have more than a temporary line installed after Hurricane Wilma.

This reformatted bill concept might be someone's idea of a necessary expenditure and activity at AT&T - maybe they even got a promotion or an employee-of-the-year nomination as a result. It just doesn't work for me.

How about saving us some money instead of looking for ways to spend it?

Aren't our phone bills big enough (in money) without calling attention to them by actually making them physically larger?

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

Today, I thought I was making progress with a company that I've been working with for over a year. The original installation on a home improvement was inadequate - and we've been back and forth several times. It has been inspected more than once, and solutions have been promised - more than once.

Out-of-the-blue, they call and say they'll be right over to take measurements. Wow, we're making progress, I thought.

Then, it turns out they aren't interesting in making anything except a few minor cosmetic improvements and they suggest that since they are now done with the project that I should pay them the balance (they have a large deposit already).

When I even try to suggest that there are still issues, one of them insists that he is the one who decides for their company when the job is done satisfactorily. I quickly size this up as a standoff.

Bottom line: they are in a cash crunch and want paid even though the work is sub-par and they really don't want to fix it. And I'm just supposed to say "OK"?

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

A few months ago after I discovered that I had no phone service, I contacted the phone company. They gleefully reported that they had successfully moved my service to my new address as I had requested.

The only problems with this scenario are (1) I hadn't moved, (2) I didn't request the change in service, (3) I wasn't expecting my service to be interrupted or moved, (4) the person who requested it is someone I've never heard of (what about privacy laws - I can't even gain access to my account without knowing the secret handshake?), (5) the address where they moved it is unknown to me, (6) they would try to have my service retransferred back to me in a couple of days, and (7) there might be a charge for restoring my service to myself.

I really had forgotten about this like the bad dream that it was until yesterday. I happened to be talking to the phone company on another matter and was told that I still have 2 more payments for transferring my service - for the mistake they made and get to charge me for fixing.

Can you believe it?

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my  website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.

Last night I took my wife's car for an oil change. I have been there before so I know that they are open until 8:00. I felt that closer to the end of their day might be less of a wait.

I arrived a little before 7:30 and was told that they were closed - even though by all appearances they were still open. I protested and showed them the posted sign that indeed said open until 8:00. They maintained that this was the time that all of the employees had to off the premises and to make sure this happened no car could be started after 7:30. It still wasn't 7:30, so I had them either way.

Reluctantly they agreed to do mine - and the person ahead of me - with the stern, perturbed warning "this is the last time I can do this for you."

If they need to be closed and gone at 8:00 that's fine. Post their hours as 7:00 or 7:30 and have time to clean up. Makes no difference to me. Just don't say one thing and do another.

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For more information on my coaching services or sales tips visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my blog homesalesinsights.com.