A lesson in customer retention

[oldrider]

I have been a client of a local business for 30 odd years and have recently taken my business to his opposition and wont be going back.

I broke my glasses, pisses you off when it happens, particularly when you are blind as a friggen bat and can not read a thing with out them. It is all ok though, I am insured and this is why I pay for insurance So, I make a call to the business that I have dealt with for a long time, tell them I broke my specs and attempt to make an appointment to get some new ones

So, far so good. Now things are a bit tight financially for me at the moment, read very tight if you will, I can not afford to buy new glasses, but will manage to pay the excess on my insurance claim without too much hardship. I got asked if I was going to claim insurance, I said yes. What is the name of your insurance company? Um, think it is xyz, but I will have to check with my broker. This is when things got tricky, apparently if I am with a broker I have to pay them in full for new specs and get reimbursed by the insurance company, they dont handle broker claims. I did ask again if I had heard correctly, and yes it was confirmed, if I was insured via a broker I had to pay in full, if I was directly insured then no problem at all. I said thank you, I can't afford to pay for new glasses and rang off.

Luckily I now have an option in town. I made a call to the opposition and it appeared to be no problem to them at all. My new specs should arrive anyday

So, being a decent sort of long term client, I wrote and hand delivered a letter to my ex optomitrist and put him in the picture as to what had happened. He rang me, very sorry to hear of my experience. He had interviewed his staff, and they denied saying I had to pay up front for my new glasses, so this was all my problem. Oh, OK! I must have imagined it then, in fact my fantasy extended to taking the time to write to you telling you about it. Sure, that is fine. It is your business after all.

I am lying, it never happened, I must have made the whole thing up. A 30 year client of yours takes the time to tell you why they are no longer one, in writing no less, and you dont think there may be even the smallest bit of truth in what they are saying? Wonder how many more of your clients have been told something similar?

Well he stopped then and thought about it, perhaps I should look into this a bit more? Perhaps he has read my letter after all. In it I suggested he review his policy on accepting broker based insurance claims or take the time to train his staff in how to apply his policy.

There is one quick lesson in how you will not win a client back after fucking up. Sure, support your staff, back them all the way if they are right. Train them well to ensure they are really representative of your business principles. But, if you get a complaint, investigate it. Hear both sides, before you tell someone that took the time to write to you, they are wrong, what they complained about never happened. Then train your staff up a bit more and/or put your client in the grumpy bitch pile

Supporting staff is one thing, standing around and paying them when you have no customers, is another!

The adage: "A fool and his money are soon parted" springs to mind!

Have no fear Mom, I would have stood by you while you felt your way around!

Glasses are just to make you look better!

[The Stranger:Me]

I bet he's having a big sigh of relief and congratulating his staff.The plan worked perfectly and he's off loaded the bitch to that other sucker.There is always two sides to a story.

Is he allowed to defend himself here,or is this a KB bash only?

Hmm, as much as I find it distasteful, I have to agree with Motu here to a degree.

I have turned away insurance work several times in the past. Our margins on hardware are bad enough as it is, to have them simply use us for a price check or to beat another supplier with and pay months late if we do get the work.

The exceptions are where we advise our clients that if they wish us to do the work they must tell the insurers that we are the only ones they will accept - in which case the insurers fuck someone else around with price checks.

So not all work is good work and I'm not in business to be fucked around by arseholes thanks - not that I'm calling you an arsehole Mom, but I can understand their position. In most cases I'd rather not deal with insurers for the reasons stated above, and unless the client is an important one I wont.

[Brian d marge]

Why bother ..specs .com or whaterever...a couple of days a couple of hundred to your door

ole Jim ( national ) has been on about it on the radio ,,,,

Wouldnt bother with any Kiwi busness who showed the slightest form of cant do

unless it was ,,,reaaaalllllly difficult


Stephen