Passing the After-Sales Test

Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to branch out into non-foods. Well, they all do it now, but in those days it was unheard of. Alongside the fruit and vegetables, meat and tinned foods they sold refrigerators that they had purchased at very low cost from an eastern European company (these were the days when East and West Europe rarely traded with each other).

These fridges were very cheap ? and they worked! The retailer passed on much of this low cost to grateful customers who purchased them in great numbers.

What the retailer didn't consider was that fridges ? unlike tins of beans ? occasionally need spare parts. They sometimes breakdown or are damaged. What the retailer forgot was AFTER SALES.

It was entirely understandable the customers would make the assumption that the retailer would have this in hand. Trouble is, they didn't. The parts - and the engineers who knew who to fit them - were in Poland. So, to many customers, what seemed like a bargain turned out to be a problem. This retailer is now very successfully selling non-food goods alongside food products and I am sure they did the decent thing by refunding their disgruntled fridge customers of many years ago.

Not all companies are so good with their customers. Some will sell products as a one-off transaction and will not be interested in what happens from the moment the product has been sold. "We don't do repairs and we don't sell spare parts. Contact the manufacturer." This is not a lot of good if you live in the U.S. and the manufacturer is in Shanghai, for example.

Of course, some products and are not designed to be repaired or refurbished. The manufacturers simply expect them to be thrown away at the end of their life, even if that life is relatively short. An example is the microwave oven. Who fixes yours? Nobody, I suspect. They are usually repairable, but rarely is one ever repaired. No, they just end up in landfill alongside many other goods that are also thrown away rather than "made good". No wonder many countries around the world are introducing legislation to limit the extent to which such goods can be tossed away so casually.

So, next time you are considering a purchase, especially the purchase of an expensive product or a mechanical product, consider the following tests:

1. Is it built to last?
2. Does it come with a guarantee?
3. Is there evidence of the product's durability?
4. Is it designed to be repaired?
5. Are spare parts available?

Remember also, that repair is better for the environment than replacement. Of course, old products do need to be replaced eventually, but why replace prematurely just because you have purchased a product that failed the tests above?

One group of products that pass these tests with flying colors is Insect-o-Cutor Fly Killers. Have a look at www.flykiller.net and you will see them there.

Let's put them to the above tests:

1. Insectocutor Fly Killers are made of steel. Their solid construction is one of their best selling points.

2. They come with a 5-year guarantee

3. Go to any restaurant or commercial kitchen and you will see Insectocutor fly killers that have been there for 20 years ? and still going strong!

4. Insectocutor fly killers are constructed in a logical way making repairs straightforward. Insectocutor also provides support for repairs.

5. Insect-o-Cutor sells a range of spare parts for all of their fly killers ? even for models that are no longer in production. And their best UK distributor, Arkay Hygiene ? at www.eeeee.co.uk - is always happy to provide these spares as well as replacement u.v. lamps and glueboards


After sales is just as much about the customer as it is about the product. Making a sale is not the end, it is just the beginning. Insect-o-cutor is a good example of a company that demonstrates its concern for it customers through the long-term support offered for its range of products. Just think on that one when you are next down the municipal dump with your broken down microwave!

Fly Killer machines can be seen at http://www.flykiller.net, including spares, lamps and glueboards.

---

Client Service as a Competitive Advantage

As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusing how people answer... Read More

Becoming A Solution To Your Customers Problems

Those of us in home based and small businesses are in effect selling our product. So becoming an effective salesperson is very important. Remember, however, that selling... Read More

How CRM Software Works -- Creating Customer Satisfaction with a Click

When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is, "Customer Relationship Management," but that doesn't really convey much in terms of what all CRM does for... Read More

Profit from a Customer Service Recovery Program

A client recently said to me: "Most days things seem to run smoothly; but whenever we have a customer complaint, we seem to collapse. Where are we... Read More

CRM For Beginners ? Customer Relationship Management Basics

In order to maintain a successful business, the business must understand and maintain a positive relationship with its customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process of... Read More

Making Your Contacts Work For You

The best way to explain this concept is to tell you a story. While calling for lease purchasing property, I spoke with an older widowed woman. I... Read More

When a Customer Has Done Everything to Get Your Goat

You try to make your customers happy. You sincerely WANT them to be pleased with your products and service. You go out of your way to provide... Read More

Finding Out Why a Potential Customer is Calling On You

Our challenge as the business owner/sales person answering the telephone, is to build rapport with the caller, quickly and easily.In most cases, the caller has been told... Read More

Dont Forget your Existing Clients

Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the billsAcquisition. It's a big word in small business marketing. Companies are constantly looking at ways to draw... Read More

Whats Love Got To Do With It?

Customer Loyalty, we all want it. Don't we?Some people say it's dead - they say that customers are fickle, that they don't want loyalty, that they just... Read More

The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign

Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer's, so I'm the one... Read More

A New Way To Handle Complaints, Or Is It?

What a lot of money we have been wasting on dealing with customer complaints.Instead of dealing with them and attempting to satisfy the customer we should create... Read More

Making the Connection: Customer Relationships That Build Your Business

Have you ever wondered why you often find a coupon tucked inside your cereal box, or get invited to a customer preview sale at your favorite department... Read More

Do You Want More Profits? - Follow The Golden Rules Of Providing Good Customer Service

Last night I was at my computer and a Skype chat window opened up with a link in it from a stranger. I clicked the link and... Read More

What To Do When Youve Blown It

It's bound to happen sooner or later ? yes, even to you and your business. Sometime or other, you will make a blunder that upsets a customer.... Read More

How to Keep Customers

Who was it that said - "The customer is always right"? Well for those of you who can't get through the day without knowing, it was H... Read More

How To Use Your Current Customers

Jay instructed a customer of his to offer a rare coin collection to new customers for just $19. He was actually losing a couple of dollar on... Read More

At Your Service: The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service!

Customer service is an integral part of our job and should not be seen as an extension of it. A company's most vital asset is its customers.... Read More

How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends

Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking... Read More

Accountability

The Call Center world is an intense pressure-driven environment continually being shaped by pressure to ensure steady profitability and a secure competitive advantage.Accountability and a basic fundamental... Read More

Create Win-Win Deals With Your Competitors

In the competitive world of the 20th century, we generally viewed competitors as the enemy. And a competitor was anyone who sold to the same target audience... Read More

Why Cant Microsoft Make Soft Packaging?

Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its product but does not want you to open the plastic case that is welded around the cardboard... Read More

Does Your Customer Talk Back To You?

What is your customer saying about you? Do you really know? Does your customer really know who you are?If you don't know what your customer thinks about... Read More

It Is All About Customer Service!

In this day of terrible customer service, it should come as no surprise that serving your customers, also known as visitors to your web site, must be... Read More

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

However, in the world of business, this cliché may not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can be more like 'Out of Site, Out of Mind'.Your existing clients... Read More

Complaints Are Actually A Good Thing!

Nobody likes to get complaints. They make you question your judgment, they can ruin your day, and they almost always leave you in a bad mood. But... Read More