Recently at an industry event, I was talking with the Vice President of a large Mechanical Contractor in Omaha, Nebraska. He mentioned that they are trying to grow and build up the Controls portion of their company, and we got into a discussion on what it takes to do that. I started to give him a deep dive into the technical things that I think are important, but then I stopped myself and said, “Really, the most important thing is great Customer Service.” He agreed and mentioned that many of their competitors do not have good Customer Service. We continued talking about Customer Service and other aspects of business. Later that night as I tried to fall asleep, I started thinking about how critical great Customer Service is to any business. I have always taken great pride in providing great Customer Service, and there are many layers and aspects to providing great Customer Service. In this blog, I would like to dig into what makes up great Customer Service and hopefully provide some tips for contractors and engineers.
Great Customer Service provides the customer with a positive experience that makes them feel they have got more than their money’s worth. The age-old adage that the customer comes first is a great one, but what does that mean and how exactly do you do that?
Here are eleven tips and tools that I use to provide great Customer Service.
- Be Empathetic and Sympathetic: Put yourself in the shoes of the customer. Try to understand how they are feeling and what they are going through. Listen completely to their problems, desires, wants, and wishes.
- Do what you Promise: When you promise something to the customer, it is critical that you follow through and execute that promise. If you cannot execute that promise, you had better have a darn good reason why you couldn’t.
- Meet your Deadlines and Schedules: It is important to meet all the deadlines and the schedules as much as possible. Once again, if you cannot meet them due to something unforeseen, let the customer know and explain it to them.
- Be Truthful and Do Not Make Excuses: This really should go without saying, but it is so important to be truthful and honest with the customer. Explain the situation, and do not make excuses.
- Be Proactive with your Updates and Communication: The customer may not expect frequent updates, but you are always much better off providing them frequently. These updates can be done verbally or via e-mail. These updates should let the customer know how things are going and what the future schedule looks like. If it is a complex and long project, providing 3 weeks look ahead schedules that are updated weekly can be a great way to do this.
- Look out for the Customer: Whenever I am working for a customer, I always try to put myself in their shoes and ask how I would build this or how I would do this if I were them. Sometimes this may go against what the customer wants, and then it is necessary to have a heart-to-heart conversation with the customer and explain to them why what they are asking for is not the best. Also, it is important to identify problems while you are working and bring those to the customer’s attention. This could be something totally unrelated to the work that you are doing, but they will appreciate it and come to understand that you are on their side.
- Treat the Customer’s Money, Property, and Assets with the utmost Respect: Understand what the customer’s financial limitations are and make sure you do not overstep those limits by including unnecessary items in the project. Take care of the customer’s money, property, and assets better than you would your own.
- Be the Hero! It is up to you to save the day. This means being there for the customer when they need you. This also means doing a top-notch job and exceeding their expectations.
- Be Responsive! This is one of the most critical ones. To be the hero, you must be responsive. What does this mean? Answer the darn Phone! Respond quickly to the customer’s emails, texts, phone calls! Also, remember that if there is an emergency, calling someone is the proper form of communication not a text or email. There are so many times in my career where I have answered the phone on a weekend for a customer in an emergency. By being responsive, I have immediately gained the customer’s trust and business.
- When you give Discounts, show them to the Customer: Contractors and engineers will often provide a discount to the customer. When you do this, make sure the customer knows about it. The best way to do this is not by telling them because they will forget. Instead put it right on the invoice showing the discount/credit, so the customer sees it.
- Be Professional, Positive, Upbeat, Happy, Friendly, and Courteous! Now, I am not saying to talk the customer’s ear off or be disgustingly over the top friendly. But it is always good to be friendly yet professional with the customer. At the same time, one should always be positive about how the project is going and how things are proceeding. In addition, it is always critical to be courteous with the customer, especially in e-mail. A request always comes across much smoother when you say “please” first and then say “thank you” afterwards.
These are some of the tools and tips that I have found work well for providing great Customer Service. I hope you can put some of these to work as well.
Note: This blog was written without the help of AI. The thoughts and ideas that I have provided here are all mine….as are all the punctuation and grammatical errors! Thank you. Waylon Lowery. Efficient Mechanical Systems Engineering.