From my personal experience as a customer, there is a particular auto parts store that I will not enter unless I absolutely have to. The employees never acknowledge customers walking in the door, and they don’t even bother to ask if you need help as you wander through the aisles. If you make it to the counter without needing assistance, there is often nobody there to ring you up, and the staff is in no hurry to do so. For these reasons I go to a different auto parts store where I’m greeted as I walk into the building, and asked if I need any help. I don’t even bother to check the prices between the two stores, because I don’t want to give my money to the first store.
The forklift owner’s customer service experience with a dealer is not unlike mine with the auto parts store. Neither of us want to make the purchase, but we have to in order to fix a broken machine that is needed for daily operations. Therefore, the customer will often choose a service provider that makes the experience as painless as possible. While in the CFE parts department, I dealt with many customers whose equipment we are not dealers for. I kept these customers by always telling the truth and following through on anything I promised. On one occasion, I could not purchase a part through an aftermarket vendor, so the competitor dealership was my only option. I informed the customer of this, and he still wanted to buy the part from me. The competitor dealership had done something previously that made this customer willing to pay more just so he did not have to contact that dealer.
My experiences on both sides of the fence are what influenced my strong belief in great customer service. There are many places a customer can go, but they are more willing to go to the place that makes them feel appreciated. That is why we must take care of the customer, because the statement in the sign pictured above is very true.
