What someone paid me today because of bad customer service

[Steve B]

I just completed a fence installation (between the raindrops) for a guy that paid over a thousand dollars for a fence installation from one of my competitors just 6 weeks ago. He was so frustrated with the other guys that he asked to see if I could fix it for him.

They supposedly have a guarantee on everything and it certainly should have still been covered. I came out to do the repair - but, it was installed in such a strange manner that I couldn't find the problem. I gave him a quote for me to start from scratch with all my hardware. I also gave him a quote for me to re-run the wire, but use their hardware (to save him money). But, I advised him that my evaluation thus far was free and that he really should call this other company and demand they fix their problem. I won't mention the other company's name, but it rhymes with "Indelible Wrench".

Guess what choice he took? He was so angry at the Indelible Wrench company that he didn't even want to dial their phone number again. He paid me another thousand dollars to do the same exact job he paid them to do just 6 weeks ago. He said they did it wrong, treated him like he was stupid when he complained, and they wanted to charge him extra to fix their original mistakes.

This guy did not seem to be especially affluent. He worked for the federal government and owns a nice, but modest house. His wife wanted him to call the other company, but he said he wouldn't do it, but she could. She also declined to deal with them again.

I gave him a bit of a break on the price and bought back his Indelible Wrench Hardware (I'll sell it on e-bay). I have a feeling he'll be my best salesperson for a while.

I hear complaints about this company quite often (although not to this extreme). I just can't understand why I'm not rich yet, when my biggest competitor does such a lousy job.

[nealrm]

Things are really good when the compentition is pushing work your way. Are you going to send them a thank you card? :-)

[vangogh]

Hmm? I wonder which competitor that is

Really shows how important customer service is both good and bad. The competition gets the one sale sure, but we know they've lost any future sales to this person. They've also lost any sales he might have recommended and maybe some more if he decides to speak up about them.

You on the other hand have a life long customer and any customer he recommends.

Hang in there with the competition. We know they do a horrible job and continuously shoot themselves in the foot. They might be making some quick sales now, but at the cost of their reputation and future sales.

[billbenson]

Steve, I'm assuming you bury the cable. It would typically go around a yard perimeter or maybe several areas, say the front as well.

Is it a special cable? Do use armored cable or put it in a casing for protection? I'm just curious, because other than the labor aspects such as putting cable under rocky areas or poor quality cable or protection, how does someone screw up that badly? And if they used cheap cable, it would probably take a year to corrode and have problems?

What did they do to screw up so badly? They obviously got the homeowners pissed from the start!

[Steve B]

The quality of the wire or the coating was not an issue (we use insulated cable that is rated for direct burial - as do they). The screw up is where they tried to connect two different zones (this was a bit more than just a basic perimter layout). They also left an opening for the dog to get out. I can't explain why they did this.

They probably had a new employee on the job, they probably didn't understand the owner's instructions, then they treated him poorly when he told them there was a mistake. For whatever reason, they assumed the customer was an idiot.

This reminds me of a previous thread involving HT - where someone (could have been me) suggested that an extremely generous guarantee motivates a company to do the work right. My competitor has all kinds of loopholes in their guarantee so it's practically meaningless. Mine is no-questions asked - unconditional. You bet I do it right the first time and drill it into my employees during the training to do it right the first time.

In addition to all the obvious mistakes I saw in today's job - the homeowner would have broken his wire the first time he edged his driveway - guaranteed. I've NEVER had a call back from someone edging their driveway.

[huggytree]

ive never had that one happen, but wish it would....

id ask him for a testimonial and hand them out w/ your bids....this will help to knock the other guy out and you in....do you compete against him often?

[orion_joel]

Maybe the problem is that the other company sells the initial install cheap, and customers end up paying for it in the after sales repairs.

This may be more of a problem based on most people may hold out longer paying for the other company to try and fix what they stuff up in the first place.

[Steve B]

HT - yes I compete against these guys often. Actually, their name is so well known most people just call them and not me.

Joel - they are usually more expensive than I am on their original price - although in this economy I've seen them lower their prices quite a bit, so I'm not sure anymore. They also make tons of money after the sale that I don't by selling people another $800 worth of batteries (per dog) over the life of the dog. The batteries are a unique size and must be purchased through their dealers. My system uses a rechargeable collar.

I'll probably get a testimonial letter from him and put it on my website. I've got a few others like this already - there is no shortage of customers unhappy with this company.

[KristineS]

I would keep praying the other company doesn't get wise and start doing good work and treating their customers well. As it is right now, they're your best salesperson. That customer is going to sing your praises to the skies and condemn the other company all in the same breath. Plus he's probably so mad he's going to tell everyone he meets this story.

Lots of good word of mouth for you!

[CBoykin]

For some reason this is the line in your post (no pun intended) that was most interesting to me. It is s statement concerning your profit & equity plan and how your operations are performing vs plan thus far. It (while may have been added for the humor in it) is also a statement I've heard many times from our clients.

So out of curiosity, it took a look at your website, thought some more about the facts listed in your story, and tried to figure out if you had been in business long enough to where you could measure the progress to your goal of being rich - which seemed to your plan according to the statement.

You have been in business, for what looks like at least 3 years, so there should be progress to be measured. The question is, have you measured and is it not on track with the plan... (assuming there is a plan that has a clear Primary Aim, Stategic Objective, and a profit plan with systems/controls designed to serve the stategic objective - including benchmarks and milestones defined) Are you outperfroming missing the marks?

Then there is the competition, and the "when my biggest competitor does such a lousy job" statement:

a. beleive it or not "the competition" should have little to do with weather you get rich or not

b. lousy performance by your competition should be part of your plan - does your plan maximize the potential to capitalize on such a situation?

c. In your "about us" section of your website you do not mention your length of time in the business. While you may not want to highlight that when you are new, you've evidently managed to stay in business longer than most small companies do, and to me seems like it might be worth noting - especially if your competition is out there screwing up jobs.


So, hope it was all in humor, if not, take the statement more seriously and do something about it...