EDITOR
PRODUCT & PROCESS My moment of awakening came on a sales call. I was in the backyard with the homeowners, making notes for a deck design, when I noticed their attractive new fence. I told them it looked great. “It’s OK,” one of them said. Tepid answer. “What’s wrong with it?” I asked, and got an earful. The installers had argued with the homeowners over small details, never started on time, left the site a mess, and took forever to finish. The homeowners mentioned every stereotype attributable to our industry.
I came back a few weeks later to walk the finished deck with them. What did they think, I asked. The same homeowners spent 20 minutes talking about “how great the guys were,” how they cleaned up every night before leaving, never said a foul word, were unfailingly pleasant, and “always kept us involved in the project.” The $20,000 deck itself, was never mentioned. That’s when I realized that it’s both the process and the product that we sell. The product still has to be something you’re proud of, but the process — the customer’s experience — is what clients remember and talk about.
Front-line people are the ones who can deliver that experience. First, make it clear that a happy customer is the goal, and explain why it’s necessary that clients be thrilled. But don’t leave it at that. Establish parameters — written policy — for every point of contact from how you answer the phone to how you set the appointment to punctuality and jobsite behavior.
Employees also need to be free to make it happen on their own. Give them the authority to make decisions that ensure a great outcome for the homeowner. For instance, on a jobsite, let the crew leader approve the small changes that make for a smooth process and a great product. If a decking crew comes across a knotty deckboard and the customer says, “I really don’t want that board,” the crew leader shouldn’t have to call the office to get permission to set that piece aside before moving on with the job. That’s a great feeling, for him, for you, and for the customer.
—Dennis Schaefer is a speaker and consultant on customer service in the home improvement industry.
