The roof, the roof, the roof has been postponed...

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the difficulty I was having finding a roofer. By the end of the 'story' I settled on the company I call 'Roofer D' because he seemed to be moderately reliable. That was then...

Signs of Trouble

Roofer D emailed a contract to me shortly after I confirmed I wanted to move forward with his company. I signed the contract and emailed it back but then noticed a second email in my inbox. This email was asking for a 10% deposit to initiate the job, even though the contract stated the terms were full payment on completion. Perhaps this was a minor oversight, so I allowed Roofer D to revise the contract. The new contract included a 10% deposit, 50% upon delivery of materials and setting up the scaffolding, and the balance upon completion. I wasn't happy with these changing expectations, but I was eager to move forward so I signed.

Rain Delay

We set a start date for February 27, but there were heavy rains the week before, so I got a call from Roofer D on February 26 asking to postpone the job until March 5. I appreciated the call and I had told him beforehand that it wasn't a big emergency so I agreed to the new start date. Then, on February 27, I got another call from him, this time asking to extend the date until March 12. "OK," I said, "but this has to be the date." He agreed the date wouldn't change again.

Lessons Learned

I had low expectations going in, not having heard too many good stories about customer service from roofers. In this case, it's been all about simple expectations that haven't quite been met. I'll reserve judgement until the job is completed, but I wonder if Roofer D realizes the impact this job may have on future business. Consider the following ways I might promote and refer Roofer D or proclaim his ineptitude and poor business dealings, all dependant on how this story turns out.

• I do have a blog, and up to 3 people read it each and every week. I'm planning to name Roofer D upon completion of the job. One of you three people may have a roof of your own that needs help someday.
• There are all sorts of websites where you can provide feedback on local services like this, including Kudzu and ImproveNet.
• I have friends with roofs too. (For some reason, my friends aren't among the 3 people who read my blog. Ouch.) We often give each other referrals on these types of services.

What can we learn from BusinessWeek's service champs?

Not surprisingly, Alfred's Tailoring did not make BusinessWeek's latest list of their 'Top 50 Customer Service Champs'. To be fair, they didn't quite fit BusinessWeek's criteria, but I don't think they'd make the list even if they did.

My wife dropped off a suit last week for tailoring. She needed the suit no later than Saturday, so the tailor said the suit would be ready by noon if my wife paid cash up front. When my wife arrived on Saturday at 12:30, the suit wasn't ready. The response from the tailor was, "I've been really busy!" I guess we'll be too busy to go back.

BusinessWeek Top 50 Customer Service Champs
BusinessWeek has just come out with their list of top customer service companies. The list highlights a few organizations that are truly excellent while raising quite a few questions at the same time.

Dominant Industries
Three business categories account for more than 50% of the companies on the list. Auto manufacturers, hotels, and financial service companies captured 26 of the 50 spots. There were no tailors, though clothing retailers captured four places. See the entire list here.

Unanswered Questions
BusinessWeek's ranking system does raise a few questions. Part of their methodology was rating each company on 'people' and 'process'. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a real explanation for what 'people' or 'process' really means to them. If anyone could enlighten me, I'd be grateful.

Another question is how some of these companies truly made the Top 50 list. For example, BusinessWeek relied extensively on data provided by J.D. Power. Fairmont Hotels was ranked #3 on BusinessWeek's list, but only received a 3 out of 5 rating for overall satisfaction from J.D. Power. Huh?? By contrast, Ritz Carlton, #12 on the list, received a 5 out of 5 rating from J.D. Power. Several other companies on the Top 50 list received relatively poor 'people' ratings, such as B's and C's. Hardly the stuff of 'Customer Service Champions'.

Lessons Learned
These types of rankings are great discussion topics, but customers will ultimately decide who the champs are, and they will eventually vote with their wallets. The weighting of the list suggests that customers have high expectations for certain industries, so companies in those lines of work have to be constantly on their toes. My wife's recent experience also reminds me that the industries we don't expect much from (like tailors and dry cleaners) can go a long way by just being polite and responsive.

Passionate Customers

My recent posts about Starbucks gave me an opportunity to research what other people were saying. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are very passionate about what Starbucks is up to. A few bloggers have even started some very interesting conversations, such as Becky Carroll (Customers Rock!) and Jay Ehret (The Marketing Spot). Carroll and Ehret are collaborating on what they call "The Starbucks Project" to help "Howard get it right." (Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks.)



This got me thinking - how nice would it be if we all had customers who were so passionate about our products and services they went to great lengths to give us feedback and help us get it right.

• I love Jimmy Dean sausage, but this guy takes it to the next level. Listen to his complaint call (careful, his language is a bit 'colorful').
• Fanpop.com is a fan club website with pages for many companies (including In-n-Out!).
• Fans, regular customers, and employees can all interact at Get Satisfaction. Check out the examples on the Timbuk2 page.
• Burger King even tried to create this sort of 'consumer enthusiasm' with their Whopper Freakout campaign.

What can we do about it?

Creating a passionate, self-motivated base of fanatical customers is both an art and a science. This could be a big discussion, but here are my top 3 strategies.

Strategy #1: Be consistent. I love In-N-Out and they rekindle that romance every time I visit, no matter which store I go to. Their service is always enthusasiatic and friendly and the product is always good. Very few companies can achieve this level of consistency.

Strategy #2: Resolve problems like a hero. This is the classic 'hero' opportunity. A customer experiences a problem and someone becomes a hero by swooping in to save the day. Kearny Mesa Acura in San Diego does a great job here. I've occasionally experienced a problem in the service department, but they've always made it right and then some.

Strategy #3: Overdeliver. The best strategy is to give customers more than they expect. The Prado Restaurant in San Diego is outstanding in this aspect. I can distinctly remember many times I've been there because they almost always incorporate an unexpected surprise. The ambience and food are both outstanding, but the service even surpasses both.

The roofer's cup runneth over (or maybe he just lost my number)

No offense to the hardworking roofers out there, but most of us don't expect a lot from you. All I really need is a little honesty, some decent craftsmanship, and I'd appreciate it if you showed up within that four-hour window we talked about. Plumbers, electricians, painters, and all manner of handymen should be in this conversation too. You all provide a valuable service, work hard for your money, and do things that I can't do for myself. At the same time, some of you are sure making it hard to do business together.

How hard is it to get a quote?!

I thought I had struck the motherload when I started searching for someone to put a new roof on my home. A cool website called Improvenet had project estimators and a simple form you could fill out to get quotes. A roofer literally called me to set an appointment within one minute of hitting the "submit" button, so I was pretty psyched.

Over the next day or so, I tracked down several different companies who were willing to come out and give me a quote. I booked their visits into my calendar so I could spend a few minutes with each person and waited for the quotes to come pooring in... Four weeks later, and I finallly have someone scheduled. Well, almost. At this point, I could probably start my own roofing company (that is, if I actually knew how to roof).

Roofer 'A'

The guy who called me immediately was first on the scene. Let's call him Roofer 'A'. When I answered the door, he handed me an envelope and said, "Everything is in here. I've been doing this for 30 years, and I think you'll find we're competitive." I followed him outside and he looked up at the roof and said, "Yeah, your ridgeline is going. It will be about $7400 to replace the roof." He started heading back to his car as I followed him trying to ask questions. "It's all in the envelope," he said.

Roofer 'B'

The next guy, Roofer 'B', sent a guy named John to do the estimate. Compared to Roofer 'A', I was really impressed with John. He got up on the roof and immediately told me I only needed to do some repairs, but didn't need a new roof. John took the time to show me the problem areas and answered my questions patiently. By the time he left, I was hoping the quote from Roofer 'B' was at least competitive. Unfortunately, 10 days and a couple messages went by before I heard back from Roofer 'B'. When he did call and leave a message, he still didn't provide a quote, "Just checking in - are you still in the market?" It took a little more back and forth before I finally got a quote, more than two weeks after the visit. The quote was only $1,650 and not very thorough, so something told me I'd be in for many unpleasant surprises if I hired Roofer 'B'.

Roofer 'C'

John from Roofer 'B' was finishing up right about the time Roofer 'C' was due to come by. I went back into the house and picked up my voice mail. One message was from Roofer 'C' saying he had come by earlier that day. I was a little bummed because I wanted to meet him in person, but it wasn't the end of the world. His quote was. Roofer 'C' proposed a complete tear-down with all sorts of extras, coming in at a whopping $8900! I traded voice messages with Roofer 'C' for a few days before getting him on the phone. "Why did you propose a complete new roof while another roofer said I just needed a few repairs?" After a bit of fumbling, Roofer 'C' said I would need a new roof in 4 to 6 years, so I might as well replace it now. We discussed it a bit more before Roofer 'C' relented and agreed to furnish a quote for just the work I needed. The quote was $3,900.

Roofer 'D'

Roofer 'D' was a referal from a friend. He was pleasant and professional on the phone, but he didn't send his estimator over as promised. Fortunately, I hadn't planned to meet this guy, so it didn't interrupt my day, but I was still disappointed. I called the guy back the next day and this time he sent out Pedro within a few hours. Like John from Roofer 'B', Pedro was friendly, patient, and professional. He agreed with John's assessment that I just needed some repairs, but not a new roof. I was hoping not to repeat the delays I experienced with Roofer 'B', so I called Roofer 'D' a few days after Pedro's visit to ask for the quote. I finally got it a day or so later and even received a prompt call back when I had a question. This quote was for $3,850.

Decisions, Decisions

The roof isn't done yet, but I have told Roofer 'D' I'd like to go with him. We spoke this morning and he told me he had a full week ahead, but would call me this afternoon to schedule the job. "It's not an emergency," I said. "Just call me when you say you're going to call me and let's get this on the calendar and I'll be happy." Roofer 'D' said he could do that, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Lessons Learned

There are many businesses out there where we don't expect much in the way of service. If you work in one of those businesses, you can really stand out by simply being responsive and keeping your promises. If you can't serve your customers at a basic level, you just may be missing out on a lot of easy sales! (Yes, Roofer 'B', I'm talking to you!)

A Simple Definition of Customer Service

A lot of people have opinions on what makes customer service good, bad, or even outstanding. I prefer a straight-forward, customer-focused defintion.

1. Good service occurs when a customer's expectations are met.
2. Poor service occurs when the customer's expectations are not met.
3. Outstanding service occurs when the customer's expectations are exceeded.

Lessons Learned:

This defintion suggests the most important step in delivering outstanding service is to learn what your customers want. So go ahead, ask them!