Treating customers well does pay off!

[Ron Kerr]

Yesterday I had an unhappy purchaser who could not download what he had paid for. The customer advised me, and I told him I would check and get back ASAP. I checked all the links and could not find a problem. I guess it was just one of those internet problems that arise from time to time and nobody was at fault.

I then created a temporary directory and uploaded the files in question, together with a small bonus for the problem.

The customer contacted me a little while ago and is very happy and tells me he plans to buy more, which makes sense given the way the particular site is set up and restrictions he has with his ISP.

The purchases were low value and I could easily have simply refunded the purchase and gone on with making more money elsewhere, but I believe my approach has created a customer who will buy more and be more than willing to provide a positive testimonial (based upon what he has said in email communication).

Being nice (and professional) can pay off.

[Scott Ames]

Agreed. Being nice pays off for the most part. Once in a while you'll find someone that you bend over backwards for and they don't appreciate it.

I had a purchaser that wanted to pay with a non-traditional service so I went through the hoops to set it up so they could purchase. Wouldn't you know, they refunded right away after getting the product.

For the most part being nice does pay. We can all find exceptions.

[PVReymond]

Ron, that's one of the most important principals in marketing...

Treat your customers in the same way you treat your real friends.... the results will be amazing.

Thanks,
^PV Reymond

[Ron Kerr]

You are right, Scott. There are some people who are impossible to please and as soon as you figure that out they are better refunded if they have purchased or politely advised that you are unable to meet their needs.

But that should not make us treat all customers like that.

[AfroSamurai]

100% with you on that one Ron.
If you treat customer / client well they'll not only luv you for it but bring you more sales. and the best part is that you feel really good about that you hv a happy customer.

[JoeOFarrel]

Fully agreed. Making a few fast bucks of your customers and then running for the hills because you can't provide service is a bad idea. Any long term business understands the inevitable 80/20 rule....20 % of your customers provide 80% of your business...

[romesaranto]

I agree with PVReymond, kind of the golden rule as well. Customer service has become a oxy moron now days so I think people are glad to finally find people that provide good service.

[1960Texan]

Ron,
Congratulations on giving your customer your best!
My wife & I have owned several successful offline businesses and owe the biggest part of those successes to the fact that we always treated our customers better than the competition treated theirs. In most cases being better than the competition meant nothing more than simply doing the job we said we were going to do! Under-promise and over-deliver.
Will

[loenex]

Your quality services towards your customers makes your business more trustworthy and profitable. Keep up the good job.

[Devon Brown]

I think customer service is extremely important.. which is why I get my assistant to take care of things like that. She's pretty good at handling complaints and support questions. I'll take care of any major issues.

On the other side of things.. she has received some very rude support emails from people who are flat out angry that something doesn't work or they can't access something and it was their fault all along (but she never tells them that). So she plays defensive blocker too.