Why you should never take yourself for granted!

The Way of the Warrior, Part One!

We came back earlier this week from the Lake District.  It’s always great to get away and change scenery and give your mind space to think and create.

One of the main realisations we came away from this break was that what we do for people ‘ain’t actually half bad’, or to put it another way, the customer service that both my wife and I offer our customers, and come to that, the way we treat our family and friends too, is right up there.  Let me explain.

Example 1. My wife goes for a hair treatment, she’s been camping for four days, she needs a little bit of TLC. She’s told the salon that she’s a hairdresser.  She’s welcomed and without any enquiry asked to sit for a hair wash, not asked what she would like, or made to feel particularly welcome, ends up washing her own hair to avoid soaking clothes. Hair is not dried, girl cuts the back, gets someone else to do the layers because, ‘she’s not very good at it’. 

The end result, in my wife’s own words, “So finished result, straight, hanging in my face, still damp at roots, frizzy front…I politely ask “can you leave the front please…?”

Too concerned for its safety..

Cost of my experience in money £ 35.00…

My wife knows now that what she does in her Salon is as awesome as people tell her, having assumed it was standard. 

Example 2.  Unexpectedly, a request was made for removal of this example, so, calmly, as a warrior, it is done…

And third. Well, when we got to our cottage, the toilet was on continual flush.  Phoned the holiday company, they told the owner and next day the plumber came and fixed the problem.  It was a bank holiday so we were also likely to have to wait until the next day.  Would have been nice if the owner had phoned and at least apologised for the situation. We would have felt cared about.

The next day we set the smoke alarm of whilst cooking.  Couldn’t get hold of anyone, neither alarm company nor holiday company.  It was going for an hour and a half before a technician came out. We had a cold dinner, alfresco!  The front door of alarm unit was broken.

Again, would have been nice if the owner had phoned and at least apologised for the situation. We would have felt cared about.

Did the same thing on our last day cooking breakfast, even though I knew what to do, it three attempts to turn off the alarm.  Front door still broken.  May be some divine justice for waking up the people in the flat above, who noisily kept my wife awake half the night before.

And the bed was seriously uncomfortable. The softest mattress I think I have ever slept on.  Back has still not recovered.

Upon our return we were asked for our comments. I dutifully filled in the form and a day later was asked whether I felt the matter had been dealt with satisfactorily.  I replied, had anyone actually done anything?

We all get things wrong.  It’s a learning experience.  In business it’s vital to make sure your customer feel cared about, they are your livelihood.

I hope all the clients who come through my business feel I give value at all times. I even have a design process statement so that they always know what is happening and keep communication lines open and get in contact with my clients regularly.

I could bang on about these issues, however, for me that just go to show that my wife and I are pretty good at making our customers feel and that is what we choose to focus on.

A learning experience.

What are you pretty good, when you actually think about it?

Simon Pollard. Urban countryman.