Satisfied or dissatisfied customers. What’s your choice?
At first glance this seems like a logical choice. Of course every entrepreneur chooses the first option. But is this really the logical choice in the world of business?
Personally I have been struggling with the owner of a drycleaner for more than half a year. After picking up my suit, I discovered that it shrunk almost two sizes. And I didn’t gain that much weight in just three days. Well, the company owner has now been busy coming up with all kinds of excuses not to pay a reimbursement for my suit, despite the fact that he is most probably insured for these events. I probably don’t have to elaborate on my opinion about this drycleaner and know for a fact that a lot of people have similar experiences. How many of these stories are told at parties and gatherings? Enough to fill a book, that’s for sure.
From where I’m standing, these entrepreneurs simply do not understand what customer satisfaction actually means. Especially in tougher economic times, one would think that keeping the clients you’ve already got should be priority number one. Now of course I understand that mistakes are made within every organization, and I believe that pretty much every client understands this. The key question here is, ‘how to solve a situation?’ And that’s were sustainability pops up. That’s when you’re able to prove that customer satisfaction means more to you than just a friendly smile, that it is written in your DNA.
Making sure your customers are satisfied does indeed cost money. And that’s when an awful lot of people choose short term solutions. ‘Sure I want to help my client, but I’m not paying for it’, seems to be an unspoken motto. As an organization, we clearly made a choice to be in it for the long run. Our vision is aimed at sustainable relations and client-oriented service.
And of course mistakes are also made at GEBA Trans. Especially in the logistics industry where one is depending on so many variables, not everything can be micromanaged. However, under no circumstance is your client to pay for that. Also, no, especially when things aren’t running smoothly, that’s when you have to give it your all to ensure that your still client leaves with a positive experience. Even if that means admitting to a mistake and taking a loss. Because that’s what real customer satisfaction means.