Every so often, I see some encouraging signs in business. I have been reading about a new day spa that has opened in Selma. Also in our own town, Foodies at Heart has been open for a little over a month and has seen some good success in its opening days, as well as some positive news coverage. I have had the pleasure of dining there with my family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as to grab an occasional cup of coffee. Keith’s Cookin’ on Ricks Road has picked up the mantle of the town’s barbecue restaurant and has made a great effort at customer service and quality. My family has been eating out most every day as of late because our kitchen has been torn apart for remodeling for several weeks now.
On the flip side, I have run across a bad experience in the search for another automobile. We actually own a second car, but my mother-in-law has borrowed that vehicle and we are most likely never going to see it returned. I have often wondered why she doesn’t just buy a new broom and ride it instead of borrowing our car, but she is family and we love her. Yeah, I love mother-in-law jokes and she knows that I love her dearly.
I had searched for a car online at several automobile sales web sites and found one or two cars at one particular local, independent used car dealership. I checked out the car I had in mind. It seemed to be in good shape. It looked nice, was clean, and was about what we wanted for a second car that would be seldom used. Considering our family needs and our upcoming activities, it seemed a perfect fit. But I wanted to do my homework before buying.
I checked the three major web sites that offer used vehicle appraisals and retail values. All looked good. I then took the vehicle to my mechanic, and I am glad that I did. The car, though the dealer claimed that it had a clear title and collision history, was obviously damaged from a wreck. Either the dealer was hiding something or the vehicle history report was lacking in details. My mechanic showed me a broken bumper held on by duct tape and bungee cords, frame damage, leaking freon in the air conditioner, and several other things unseen at first glance. My mechanic saved me from a costly mistake.
I compare that to two dealerships I have also visited. Both had an eager to help manager who was very accommodating. Both had at least one vehicle that really interested me. One had a cheaper car that was probably a good deal, and although I liked the sedan, it was probably something less than first choice. The other dealership had four cars of interest to me, one of which we may end up purchasing. The manager there was friendly, up front, and encouraged me to take the vehicle to my mechanic for an inspection prior to purchase and offered a 30 day guarantee on his vehicles.
When I was contemplating a used vehicle, I had figured that I might find a decent, perhaps older vehicle that would suit my needs. Do you know what hindered that concept? It was the Cash for Clunkers program by the federal government about 18 months ago. Cars that were otherwise in good shape had to be destroyed instead of making their way back onto car lots for resale. In talking to car lot owners, Cash for Clunkers was a boon to new car dealerships but generally hurt the used car dealers. Many used cars I found were much newer and more expensive than I wanted to pay. The “new to me” vehicle I am probably going to drive home this week is almost $5000 than I really wanted to pay. Then again, I wanted a quality family vehicle with plenty of cargo space. Instead of a mini-van like I had imagined, I am most likely getting one of those evil SUVs that are causing global warming. OK there is no global warming, and especially none caused by mankind.
There is something to be said for keeping government out of the business world and good old fashioned customer service by business owners. Good service has kept us going back to a few local restaurants and has possibly made a customer out of me for an automobile purchase.
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Column for Dec. 24, 2009
Last week, I was in a bit of a rush to ship a package by a deadline. On the way towards Durham, I wanted to ship out a small box to a business half way across the country. Since I have shipped literally thousands of packages over the years (I used to own a business in which I shipped packages to customers all over the world) I figured it would be no big deal to get one into the postal system.
I remembered that the Selma Post Office opened around 8:30 AM. One time I tried going earlier and found that they opened up then. So I grabbed the list of errands I had to perform which also included stopping by my bank and grabbing a freshly brewed Dunkin' Donuts coffee after I hit the Post Office, and headed out the door.
When I got to the local Post Office, I found a small line forming in front of the interior door at around 8:45. It seems that even in the holiday season, and especially the week before Christmas, the Post Office had changed its opening hour to 9 AM. I was not about to wait for another 15 minutes, so I hit the bank, the coffee shop, and went on to the Post Office in the next town. I figured that Smithfield was a bigger town and for sure their Post Office was open already. Negative. Their Post Office opened even later. I saw several upset potential customers walking away with the same disgust I was feeling. Surely Clayton's Post Office would be open, and since it was generally along my way to my destination for the day, I headed there.
After walking away from the Clayton facility with my package still in hand, I answered the inquiries of fellow customers that the facility was not opening until 10 AM. I should have known from watching a young mother departing with a toddler in one hand and a package in the other that the Post Office was closed upon my arrival.
I traveled further into Clayton to a facility I thought for sure would be open. A very large shipping company that delivers worldwide has a franchised agent store in Clayton. I am not going to mention the business name, but its initials are UPS. Bingo, they were open. Score one for private industry.
Private industry will only flourish however, when it meets customer needs at a price customers are willing to pay. I was astonished as I watched two extremely unsatisfied customers storm out of the business without transacting any business. One simply wanted to leave a dollar on the counter for the busy clerks to ring up later for a small card worth far less than a dollar. He was rebuffed so he dropped the card on the counter, made a deserved sarcastic remark to the clerk, and left.
One lady in front of me was quoted a price for shipping a large, gift wrapped, framed picture of some sort and a book. She was quoted over thirty dollars and we both winced. Then she was quoted an extra twelve plus dollars for the actual shipping. It seemed that the original figure was just for packaging the items for shipping and did not include freight charges. The customer got angry, felt misled, grabbed her items, and left. The two clerks shrugged off a second irate customer.
Then it was my turn to get annoyed. An item that costs about six dollars packed in a small box would cost over seven dollars to ship. Since I was not willing to go out of my way for a fourth time and find yet another Post Office, I paid the higher than expected shipping charge and left. At least I got tracking information for the package unlike I would have gotten at the Post Office and it shows that as of this writing, my package is on time for an expected delivery.
Here is the bottom line. The Post Office is run like a government bureaucracy instead of a business. The holiday season is the busiest shipping time of the year. Instead of catering to customer needs, some pinhead government bean counter decided that the Post Office would open at an inconvenient hour allegedly to save money. Instead of providing a competitive operating schedule and competitive service, they continue to act like a monopoly and as a result lost my business. How many millions more people like myself did the same thing this year instead of using the United States Postal Service? If a private company can ship a package half way across the country and track it as it goes, so can the Post Office.
Sure I am beating up on the Post Office, but I feel the same way about ABC stores in North Carolina. The same principle applies. If a government operation wants to make better revenue, they need to think like a business instead of like a bureaucracy.
I remembered that the Selma Post Office opened around 8:30 AM. One time I tried going earlier and found that they opened up then. So I grabbed the list of errands I had to perform which also included stopping by my bank and grabbing a freshly brewed Dunkin' Donuts coffee after I hit the Post Office, and headed out the door.
When I got to the local Post Office, I found a small line forming in front of the interior door at around 8:45. It seems that even in the holiday season, and especially the week before Christmas, the Post Office had changed its opening hour to 9 AM. I was not about to wait for another 15 minutes, so I hit the bank, the coffee shop, and went on to the Post Office in the next town. I figured that Smithfield was a bigger town and for sure their Post Office was open already. Negative. Their Post Office opened even later. I saw several upset potential customers walking away with the same disgust I was feeling. Surely Clayton's Post Office would be open, and since it was generally along my way to my destination for the day, I headed there.
After walking away from the Clayton facility with my package still in hand, I answered the inquiries of fellow customers that the facility was not opening until 10 AM. I should have known from watching a young mother departing with a toddler in one hand and a package in the other that the Post Office was closed upon my arrival.
I traveled further into Clayton to a facility I thought for sure would be open. A very large shipping company that delivers worldwide has a franchised agent store in Clayton. I am not going to mention the business name, but its initials are UPS. Bingo, they were open. Score one for private industry.
Private industry will only flourish however, when it meets customer needs at a price customers are willing to pay. I was astonished as I watched two extremely unsatisfied customers storm out of the business without transacting any business. One simply wanted to leave a dollar on the counter for the busy clerks to ring up later for a small card worth far less than a dollar. He was rebuffed so he dropped the card on the counter, made a deserved sarcastic remark to the clerk, and left.
One lady in front of me was quoted a price for shipping a large, gift wrapped, framed picture of some sort and a book. She was quoted over thirty dollars and we both winced. Then she was quoted an extra twelve plus dollars for the actual shipping. It seemed that the original figure was just for packaging the items for shipping and did not include freight charges. The customer got angry, felt misled, grabbed her items, and left. The two clerks shrugged off a second irate customer.
Then it was my turn to get annoyed. An item that costs about six dollars packed in a small box would cost over seven dollars to ship. Since I was not willing to go out of my way for a fourth time and find yet another Post Office, I paid the higher than expected shipping charge and left. At least I got tracking information for the package unlike I would have gotten at the Post Office and it shows that as of this writing, my package is on time for an expected delivery.
Here is the bottom line. The Post Office is run like a government bureaucracy instead of a business. The holiday season is the busiest shipping time of the year. Instead of catering to customer needs, some pinhead government bean counter decided that the Post Office would open at an inconvenient hour allegedly to save money. Instead of providing a competitive operating schedule and competitive service, they continue to act like a monopoly and as a result lost my business. How many millions more people like myself did the same thing this year instead of using the United States Postal Service? If a private company can ship a package half way across the country and track it as it goes, so can the Post Office.
Sure I am beating up on the Post Office, but I feel the same way about ABC stores in North Carolina. The same principle applies. If a government operation wants to make better revenue, they need to think like a business instead of like a bureaucracy.
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