Onion Slices

One of the things that I’ve noticed in my job is that there are quite a few businesses out there that want to treat everything like a large game. When working with one client, he would constantly tell me how he was on the cusp of leaving. Since I have several other customers, I called his bluff and let him know that I was sorry to see his company leave, but he wouldn’t be getting any more concessions out of us. After that conversation, I sent an e-mail up my management chain about how they had decided to leave, and even though we were willing to work with them (after two months of back-and-forth), they didn’t think our service would fit their business needs.

The responses to my e-mail were typical. Most on the thread ignored it. No one was willing to invest more time and money in a customer who’s complaints ranged from “We don’t like the size of the password expiry notification bubble” to “We don’t like how long it takes for support to call us back” to a general lack of understanding of the way Exchange and e-mail works. Since they had expressed a committed desire to leave, the sales organization decided to help pay for them to leave!

I handed off the customer to a co-worker who was designated as a resource to help them off-board, and thought no more on them. Now, a month later, he’s on the phone helping them troubleshoot a Tier 1 issue. It turns out that their committment to leaving was just a bluff, and they just wanted a bunch of free service and funcionality that we don’t offer.

Well, bub, I have news for you. E-mail isn’t a game to most of us. We don’t want to play around about what we can and can’t do for you. We’re not making this up, or playing our cards close to our chest. This is the world of data, and not a poker game!

Posted via email from Tim Robichaux’s Site

Nisha,

I’m sorry that this has taken me a little while to write, but I wanted to make sure that I could give it (and you) the time it deserves. First off, I have to say that Julie and I couldn’t be happier with the home that you helped us find, and the process that we had to go through. Sure there were some bumps, but you helped us navigate those and we are grateful.

When Julie and I started this process, we came into it with some expectations and perceptions that were not at all that favorable to your profession. Quite a while ago, we worked with a Realtor and were extremely underwhelmed with her. She was pushy and rude and, worst of all, she didn’t listen to us. Fortunately, the houses we ended up liking were out of my price range, so we decided to shelve the house-hunt at that point. Between that experience and dealing with some other realtors, I really was expecting to have to deal with pushy agents who were just out to make a buck. I’m glad to say that after dealing with you, I have much more respect for the profession!

When we started working with you, you took the time to try and understand what we were looking for. You were able to guide us with some of your own experience and present an alternative viewpoint when we had gotten mired in some detail or another. I know that we didn’t always see eye-to-eye on some of the homes we looked at, but you were always willing to accept our reasoning and adjust our future searches based on that feedback. More than anything else, we valued your ability to listen to what we wanted and then show us exactly those houses.

That single reason is enough for me to value your professional services, but you didn’t stop there! Your attention to detail and desire to make us comfortable on long days of house viewing was quite refreshing. You welcomed us into your car, gave us water, and presented us with clipboards with the listing print-outs on them. You planned routes that would allow us to look at so many houses every day, and your personality helped even the long trips become enjoyable. For all these reasons, not only would we use you again, but I personally would recommend you to anyone I know who wants to buy or sell a home.

When you requested that we write a testimonial if we were happy with your service, one of the things that you asked was that we offer our opinions on anything that you can do to improve your service and business. I can happily say that there wasn’t any criticism that I could think of. The minor bumps that I mentioned that you helped us steer around had nothing to do with you, or the company you work for. The long days of looking were because my wife and I were so picky. The last minute wrangling back-and-forth with one home we put an offer on was due to the disagreement we were having with the sellers. Personally, I have to say that I was so happy with you as our realtor that I have nothing to offer!

Well, I’ll wrap this up with a heart-felt “thank you” for all the help you’ve given us. We’re so happy in the home that we’re settling into, and we couldn’t have done it without your help.

Tim Robichaux

Posted via email from Tim Robichaux’s Site