Home – New › Forums › Other discussions › Returning Customer – Just a nice lil story WIN/WIN
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October 24, 2016 at 11:19 pm #995564Up::0
Hi All
Know i have been absent of late, apologies, although been rather hectic my end and being pulled at from every direction… Although i thought it would be nice to share this, hope this is ok? Might be a little long, although you guys/gals have seen longer
As most of you are aware i do 3PL from our warehouse in order to assist many new starters and so forth get out of their garages/homes for fulfilment and streamline/outsource this labour intensive aspect of their day… What most overlook are the costs, as they do the work themselves the ‘perceived’ value is negligible and anything spent is more than they were previously – first hurdle… With the second hurdle being lots of people undercutting in this industry to get people on board and then either a) hit with a large price increase shortly after coming on board as they have your stock and you are a little vulnerable or b) just dont have any real vested interest in your business and dont treat each and every parcel as if it were there own (yes we do, but thats us)…
So, the story..
Had a client 12 months or so ago come on board, worked really well and had lots of orders going out per week.. We always had open discussions on the phone or in person and i could sense there were problems, just a feeling, as orders began to slow down and in one of our meetings i asked if i could assist with anything to get things moving again (over and above to see if he needed support somewhere from me) which led to a conversation about his weekly bill.. Long story short was, his business increased over time (i kept my rates the same – no increase in 12 months – dont scald me) and as his business increased so did his invoices – which he started to feel burdened by.. No matter how many subsidies i offered, such as he used extra space i didnt charge for – came to warehouse whenever he needed something at no charge (3pls generally dont allow this due to OH&S and time restraints) – and having me on call to help out with the daily urgent requests he had, he wasnt content…
All this being said, he advised that he found a cheaper service an proceeded to request stock to be shipped over to another local site.. All no drama for me, relationship was still friendly as client and i formed a friendship (it was just business), stock moved swiftly, checked, shipped, final invoice issued etc etc and we parted ways… sadly, as i really enjoyed watching this guy grow, was impressive…
Now, 12 months on: and the crux of the story..
Said client calls me last week… we normally catch up for a coffee once every 2 months or so, and we only had a coffee the week earlier.. strange me thinks.. So, down we go for a beer and burger (woot woot) and start chatting.. ask him how business is going, orders and if he has increased turn over (not asking about $$ just volumes) and all going well.. Then, he adds, he is having troubles with 3PL which started within months of moving..
He was having problems with missing stock, unable to contact provider for urgent requests (nothing was urgent with his new provider), invoices never married up to what he actually used and so forth.. further to this, he mentioned to them that he was thinking about moving which only made matters worse for him and they began to slow down their responsiveness even more and advise if he is moving they need all invoices settled prior to stock be released (fair enough although he hadnt even mentioned he is leaving yet!)…
So, you may have read this between the lines, my old client wants to become my new client and work closely with me.. And what a compliment, to have your old customer come back to you.. It was just nice to hear, hearing the sincere observations he made of the efforts we put in to help him out in his business with a ‘can do approach’ with little to no barriers to his business growth.. Was quite humbling to be honest…
Lessons learnt:
1. Dont burn your bridges with clients that walk away from you – keep the door open
2. Dont drop your pants on dollars (be competitive though) to keep clients as you may not be comparing like for like and you may be delivering superior offerings.
3. Dont hesitate to be open with your clients
4. Do keep in touch if the channel remains open with old clients
5. Do deliver on what you promise and be different to your competitors
6. Do deliver customer service, be open and respectful in all your dealings.Anyways, i could go on.. But i love the fact that our pride in our business shines through to our clients and they can truly see our passion is for them to create a WIN/WIN for all involved….
Cheers
JasonJason Ramage | Lucas Arthur Pty Ltd | E: hello@lucasarthur.net.au P: 61 3 8324 0344 M: 61 412 244 888October 25, 2016 at 2:38 am #1202637October 25, 2016 at 3:41 am #1202638Up::0Great post Jason. Clients leave or are lost for many reasons. Mostly not personal, just circumstantial or perceived better deal etc.
As a customer there is nothing worse than when a company goes in attack mode when you choose to leave and there is no legal obligation to stop you. Even worse is when they make the process extremely difficult which is a turn on their regular great service. In those cases I would simply never return.
What goes around can easily come back around bigger and better than ever when you least expect it.
October 25, 2016 at 3:57 am #1202639October 25, 2016 at 4:46 am #1202640Up::0bb1, post: 240351, member: 53375 wrote:Another example of where good customer service wins every time. A little extra never hurts
and he paid for the burger and beer WIN/WIN/Win is sayJason Ramage | Lucas Arthur Pty Ltd | E: hello@lucasarthur.net.au P: 61 3 8324 0344 M: 61 412 244 888October 25, 2016 at 9:06 am #1202641Up::0Good job Jason,
As much as it’s just business and not personal etc, if I lose a client (a pretty rare event), it still tears me up emotionally – I’m not sure if it is the same for you.
Makes the return even more special. #fistpump!
… And you will have more material for your testimonials or copy if you want to go there.
Cheers
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