Customer service is a subject that should be on the top of the list for every business, but especially when you're a small business or an entrepreneur.

I had something happen to me yesterday that still has me asking, "Huh? You really just said that?"

Here's the skinny. As most of you know, in my "other life" I'm a Realtor and although I don't do it full time, I do still work with referral
clients.

In this particular situation, I was the referral agent for someone who rented a house. Easy transaction. Show the client the house, send them to the agent who has the house listed (with all necessary paperwork in hand), client rents the house, I get paid. No brainer, right?

Not!

My client had been in her new house for over a month and I had still not been paid. Now, sometimes the listing broker doesn't cut the checks until the first of the month and I understand that, but it was now 22 days past the first.

I had called the agent on the other end (the one who listed the house) over a week ago and she assured me she had turned in all the paperwork and given the file to her broker. I believed her.

I called the office where she worked to find out the status of my money and was told by the agent who answered the phone (without her skipping a beat, mind you) that the check had been sent out the previous Friday. Hmmmm…curious, but OK I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

When a week went by and still no check, I called again. This time I got to the Broker. The conversation we had is the reason I'm writing this.

After giving me all the excuses about how the agent was on bed rest, she was just handed the file, she had no idea about the details on the property, did I know she needed more paperwork from my broker (nope, it was never mentioned) blah, blah, blah, she stated not once, not twice, but a minimum of five times that "she didn't even know I existed". Nice.

I feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Seems she didn't look all the way through her paperwork (which is her responsibility to do) and I had just "fallen through the cracks". Again, her words. Just wants to make you join hands and sing "Kumbaya" don't it? 🙂

Folks, this is anti-customer service at it's finest. All I got was a laundry list of excuses and not once did she apologize. Still haven't
gotten the referral fee either.

What's the lesson to be learned here? Customers are the reason you're in business and should be treated with respect…always. I know, there will be a few turkeys in the bunch, but even turkeys need respect. You never know which one may refer you business down the road.

When dealing with customers and clients, the Golden Rule should always be applied. Treat your customers the way you want to be treated. You may be having a bad hair day, you may have PMS, you may have just had a fight with your spouse, your kid may have used your good shower curtain as a towel to wipe a glob of vaseline off his hands (don't ask 🙂 ).

Whatever is going on in your world, for the most part your customer doesn't care (nor should they). Your job is to serve your customers with the honor and respect they deserve. Your reward will be their loyalty and a nice healthy bank account. Pretty good deal, huh?

Have any anti-customer service experiences you'd like to share? I'd love to hear 'em (keep it clean, please. All expletives will be deleted 🙂 ) Businesses and customers are scared these days and I see customer service slipping big time. Let's decide together to turn that around. It all starts with us. Have a great one…
 

Sonrisas (smiles),
Beth