Customer service is one of the main reasons someone returns to a store or business more than once. It is often difficult to find good customer service. I thought I’d share this recent experience that combined the worst and the best and what a difference it has made.
While preparing lasagna for dinner, our Teka oven stopped working. Fortunately my neighbor is an electrician. After some investigation, it was decided that the problem was the oven trim switch. We found that aside from a couple of heating elements and a light bulb, there was actually little other than the switch that could have failed.
The internet is a wonderful thing. Armed with the model number, within 10 minutes I had the part number of the switch in question and a potential supplier. The bad news was that there was an expected delivery time of 20 days on the item. Cleary was going to wait a long time for my lasagna.
The next day I found an appliance repair shop. I use the word “store” loosely, this was essentially a junkyard for old appliances. But this place looked promising, clearly the person running it was able to take the team apart and hopefully put it back together in one piece and get it working.
There were carcasses from washing machines, stoves and other appliances that had been scavenged for parts. After explaining the problem to me, he wanted to know when I wanted him to call my house. This wasn’t necessary, but it was clearly his preference. His charge per call was not unreasonable, but for a part worth 11 euros it was ridiculous. After insisting that all I wanted was to order the replacement part, she told me to come back tomorrow at 10am with the part, but I’d have to get her the part number. Fortunately she already had it, but that should be her job.
Eager to order the replacement part as soon as possible, I returned the next morning. The store was closed, I waited a while then gave up and continued to my office very unimpressed wondering if I would ever cook again.
The next morning I stopped by “El Taller Eléctrico” at Blue Lagoon, located on the road between San Miguel de Salinas and Campoamor near Torrevieja in Spain. It is part of the large European group of electrical stores Euronics. I have heard good things about them regarding the supply of new electrical items. So I stopped and thought I’d ask if they could order the piece or give me some advice.
The lady serving was obviously busy but as soon as she saw me she stopped and asked if she could help me. I explained the problem. Within seconds she asked me for the model number of the oven. She advised that they sold the Teka brand and that she would call the local engineer. Once she had a solution, she would call me back.
He left me a message letting me know that he had a solution and that I could get in touch. On my return trip the same day I called the store again. I was immediately recognized and within seconds was presented with an oven switch. I was informed that it was from a similar model and should work. Try it, was the message. If it works, great, keep it free, if not, they’d ask for a new one. That afternoon my neighbor and I installed the piece and it worked perfectly. I went back to the store and thanked them. Still no charge so I left a tip.
Impressed by the service I had received, I decided to do some research. The lady who served me so well is Debbie. I was not surprised to discover that she has won awards for customer focus and customer service and that she was also named “Women in Business” 2011 businesswoman of the year.
In these competitive times, the personal touch is often lacking, but when delivered and delivered well, it creates a great customer service experience that everyone appreciates. Customer service is a great way to differentiate between yours and your competitors’ business. It doesn’t have to be complicated, require massive training or huge expense to provide, when done right it makes all the difference.
I know where I will go the next time something goes wrong with something electrical in my house. Thanks to Debbie and her team I finally had my lasagna without having to wait forever.