Is Anyone There?

Years ago, a rep and I were debating a service issue. One of his projects had gone south. We were trying to get the cart out of the ditch and do some damage control.

As he offered a suggestion he said, “I think about what I sell the same way I think about what I buy. How would I want to be treated? What would I expect in a situation like this?”

Clearly, his words stuck with me. It was more than 30 years ago and I can still see his face. He was feeling pain on behalf of his customer. He was demonstrating exactly why he had been hired.

Things go wrong in print. It’s custom manufacturing. No two jobs are the same. If you’re doing variable data/imaging, no two copies are the same. Your systems are invented by people. Stuff is going to get fouled up. This is when you matter most.

I had a bad dining experience, recently. The waitress was charming. She made great conversation and we felt we knew her by the time we ordered. But…

Everything went wrong. Ordered items were left out. What we received was incorrectly cooked. The server vanished. Our check was wrong. Nobody was available to save our experience.

Here are some basics that any service company needs to remember. Clients require the following:

• Accuracy
• Availability
• Empathy
• Advice

And here’s the thing. These items are hierarchical. If you can’t deliver numbers 1 & 2 Number 3 won’t matter and you won’t get a shot at number 4. If you foul up, you had better be available. You need to be available anyway. You’re the face of your business.

Back to print. I talked to a senior rep last week. Her company continues to have service problems. The steady diet of “surprises” is wearing clients down.

But her employer is angry with her. They see her as a complainer. Perhaps she is. Regardless, they aren’t focused on the trouble they’re making for people that buy stuff from them. They’re missing the chance to make things right. They’re invisible to the client.

Reps, if your company is struggling with promises you need to double down. Double down on visibility and double down on instructions. Get right in the middle of things and do what you can to make things go well. Your client is depending on YOU. Make sure you aren’t contributing to errors.

Employers, if you’re constantly breaking promises you’re on borrowed time. Client smiles don’t guarantee that they’re happy. They want what they ordered, the way they ordered it, when they ordered it. They aren’t buying surprises. You don’t want to be selling them either. Get in front of your client and listen!

Accuracy, availability, empathy and advice. Can’t get to number four without the first three.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.