Feb 21st, 2009
Are Companies Doing Better With Customer Service in a Down Economy?
The answer continues to be, “Maybe.”
Just this morning I finally had the last bit of repair done on my truck break in. Everyone missed the problem with the armrest, including me, since I never use it. Once I discovered that there had been damage to the armrest, I called GEICO to report it and come up with a plan of action.
When I spoke with GEICO, they told me to call the repair place (Honda Windward) and make arrangements with them to get the part repaired. My schedule makes it very difficult for me to take or make phone calls during the work day, but when I got in touch with them, I was told to bring the truck in, so I did.
When I got to Honda Windward, two workers (including the foreman) examined the truck and told me the damage wasn’t in what they had agreed to with GEICO and sent me away, instructing me to call GEICO back. So I did, and the GEICO representative informed me that Honda Windward had erred, and resolved to straighten it out. So he did. After that, much phone tag with Honda Windward ensued, which was largely caused by my great inability to return personal calls during business hours, but once I reached them (sometimes requiring me to leave multiple messages before getting a call back), it was pretty easy to schedule an appointment.
Once I got there, the staff was courteous, friendly, helpful, and quick–and the work they did appears to be fine. My guess is that they were trained in offering quality customer service, so I will say that with the exception of needing to leave multiple messages with the repair shop, three cheers for both Honda Windward and GEICO; they’ve done well by me.
In the next week or so, I’ll discuss a far worse customer service experience that, at least right now, is still unresolved. That said, my point, in the down economy, is this: if dollars are scarce and you have customers, don’t you think that it’s time to really treat them well so they’ll keep coming to you and maybe send you other customers? I can tell you my service with GEICO has always been so top notch that I’ll keep recommending them; Honda Windward did fine with the exception of returning calls and it’s likely I’d use them again; but this company I’ll be discussing a little later–which I have a buying history of running over 20 years–might have seen my last dollars spent there.
[...] over at Uncommon Cents wonders what’s the deal with customer service these days. You’d think companies and their employees would be interested in cultivating every customer [...]