Treating The Customer Right

March 3, 2012

After 13 years of being in the web development business, we’ve successfully completed hundreds of projects . Most of our clients continue to be regular customers for many years. In fact, we still have our very first customer as a client. And many of our projects come via referrals from other clients.

Now I don’t proclaim to be an expert on customer service. I’ve never written a book on the subject nor do I give teach classes on service etiquette. However I do know that whatever our team is doing in terms of service seems to be working pretty darn well.

I’ve always approached treating a customer simply like I would like to be treated. For example, I like to know that people will return my telephone calls or email in a timely fashion. I like to know that I can establish an open line of communication with someone that I am doing business with. If there is a problem, I like to know that I can depend upon someone being available to assist me in a relatively short time.

Although price matters, and it’s certainly great to be frugal, I most often choose quality over price, and am willing to pay a little more to know that I’ll receive both great quality and service. And I also like to know that the person I am planning to do business with is friendly and respectful. By following these simple rules, we have attracted some of the most wonderful clients.

I’ve always approached treating a customer simply like I would like to be treated.

As a business owner, I also recognize that we cannot be everything to everyone, and that occasionally a project is not a good fit for us. And we make mistakes occasionally. If we make a mistake, we fix it. No one is perfect and being up front and honest with people about your strengths and limitations is the respectful thing to do for both parties.

All of this probably sounds overly simple, right? However not a week goes by that a perspective client comes to us because some other firm or design company simply did not follow these basic fundamental ideas.

In my opinion it’s just a matter of following these steps for success:

• Be pleasant
• Return your calls and email ASAP
• Admit your mistakes
• Be confident yet humble
• Show integrity
• Always try to do what’s best for the customer

And that’s a wrap!