Communicate with Your Customers By Chris Thompson How well do we communicate with our customers? Communi- cation can be one of your great assets. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. You bring in an alternator, ask to have an estimate phoned to you, but no one ever calls. So you call the company, and after being on hold for five min- utes somebody comes back and says, “What was the name on that?” You repeat your name, then are put back on hold. Then a few minutes later, somebody comes back to the phone and tells you the price will be $50. You ask what was wrong with it and start the same perpetual-hold scenario all over again. What do you think about the company? Armatures pered when we go somewhere to make a purchase. We want to be treated like we are the only customers they have, with undi- vided attention. I know it is hard to give customers all of your attention, but you need to. The customer feels more welcome, more like you really care, and more like you understand their needs. If you stay focused on their needs, you will not only make the sale, but will earn a lifetime cus- tomer who more than likely has friends and family that will follow suit. It’s always best to follow through with your own sale from start to fin- ish. That way you know exactly what is going on and no one else will get in the middle of it. For example, some- one calls in WORKS-ing to have an alternator tested. After you’ ve ques- tioned and they’ ve explained the prob- lem, you have a pretty good idea what is going on. So then tell them to ask for you when they come in and they won’t have to explain it all again to someone else. Then do the test your- self and report the results to the cus- tomer. When you take it from start to finish the customer will be happy. I know there are times when this can’t be done, but we all need to try to make this a regular practice. I also recommend that the people waiting on customers be very (Runedgeable in what they are talking about. It’s hard to sell something if you don’t know the product. If the cus- tomer loses confidence in the person that is supposed to be the professional, you may very well lose the sale and the customer. You have to know what you’re doing—there is no way around it. This may mean having the counter- man work in the shop rebuilding or tearing down for a while before put- ting him at the counter. And you can get a lot of information at the electrical clinics and seminars. Go to them with your employees. You can’t just open your doors and expect customers to come rolling in. You have to earn them. But the ones you earn, you will keep! Chris Thompson is owner of Electric Motor Service, Stollings, WV. MARCH/APRIL, 2000 Page 1 of 1