I had two experiences recently that reminded me how a good customer service experience results in repeat business. In both cases, the business will be infrequent (I hope) due to the nature of the services they provide.
Last week, I had my annual eye exam. I went somewhere new – closer to home, even walkable when I have the time to spare. I found the location through my vision insurance website; the fact that is probably the closest eye doctor to my house is a bonus.
When I called to schedule, Park Family Eye Care was able to get me in the same week. While I appreciate that, it’s more lucky timing than customer service… they happened to have openings in the near future. I went through the usual pre-tests with an assistant, and then the vision test with the doctor. After a brief chat with the doctor, he walked me back out to the waiting area.
Anybody who’s been to the big chains knows this is where you normally get handed back to an assistant, as you agonize over which frames to pick and they upsell you on as many things as they can. That didn’t happen. In fact, the doctor helped me select frames, adding on just the extras needed based on our discussion. He then wrote up the itemized bill, took the appropriate measurements for the glasses, and only when that was done, passed me off to the front desk for payment.
In a similar vein, I had my dryer serviced this week. To be more specific, my dryer stopped spinning a couple weeks ago; fortunately the weather is nice for drying on a clothesline. I logged onto Next Door and asked for recommendations, hoping that I wouldn’t need to buy a new dryer quite yet. I received several recommendations, including one from a person who had experienced the same issue; I went with her recommendation and called West Suburban Appliance Repair.
When I called to schedule, I was told the diagnostic visit fee would be applied to the repair if I opted to repair the dryer with them. That was a good start.
The repairman assessed the problem fairly quickly – a broken belt – and happened to have a replacement for my make and model in his truck. He informed me of the cost before even checking his truck for the belt, then verified that I was approving the work at that price after confirming that he had the necessary piece. I know, that all seems super reasonable, but sometimes repairs around the house end up with surprise costs.
What caught my attention was the details at the end of his visit. Instead of just handing me the work order and running my credit card, he explained the details of the work order, including the manufacturer’s warranty on the part and the company’s warranty on the work. He literally went through every piece of information written on the work order… I’m not sure I’ve seen anybody do that before. He’s certainly at the top of my list to call if I need appliance repairs… though I hope not to.