Trust Your Customer

I always try to analyze things that happen around me, judge if it was a success or failure and see how it might make me better. In that spirit I will tell you about something that is not finished but not going well. You will be able to tell by my tone that this is not a rant.

Hot summer, lots of work and some small surgery have come together to make the flower bed around our house look rather natural. Full of weeds, grass and small trees. It makes it hard to make excuses when the trees are 3 foot high.

We decided to spend some money and have a professional service do the job. I am talking about someone who we have used before and not someone I picked up in the parking lot at Chilly Mart. Real business, real trucks with signs on them. I found it odd that the target day of last Monday came and went without any contact so I called late Monday night and left a message. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday...silent. I called and was told they would be there Friday

Sure enough, 7:45 AM the owner in a shiny truck with a sign on the side and two workers in a not so shiny truck with a sign on the side are parked in front of my house. The owner apologizes and says they will get this done for me. He is going to go to the warehouse and get the fertilizer and spreader and will be right back. True to his word in 15 minutes he returns with the necessary equipment and things are looking good. Then he leaves.

I hear a cell phone ring in the front yard and the boss worker answers it and walks over to the truck, sits down and talks for 10 -15 minutes. He then returns to the spreader which he is working on so they can use it, but is interrupted by his cell phone. Back to the truck, another long conversation. During this time the junior worker was working away but must have been new to landscaping because he was pulling ground cover and leaving Johnson grass. I tell myself to talk with the owner when he returns about his crew....in the distance a cell phone rings.

About 10 minutes after nine, I notice I haven't heard the cell in a while....as a matter of fact I haven't heard anything. Looking outside, I cannot see even one truck with a sign on the side. I place a call to the owner to see if 9:00AM is standard break time but get his voice mail. I leave a message.

Now, this is a blog on customer service. If I told you it is 10:45 AM on Monday morning and I have not received a return call would you see that as a customer service problem. In looking at this from the customers view, I am left to speculate;

• Did he die?
• Will he ever return?
• Do I owe him anything for the little work performed?
• Should I call again?

He has missed two opportunities to make his life easier and to avoid problems on his jobs. Both opportunities were to return my calls. Or better yet, call me as soon as he sees he cannot meet his commitment. I am very reasonable and would have said...just do it when you can.

He might have legitimate reasons why he did not show up when he said he would. There might even be a good reason his workers left after only an hour. But there is no good reason not to call me.....unless he died.

Now excuse me...I have to go to Chilly Mart.