Technology is Great For Metal Signs, But is it Good Or Bad For Customer Service?

Technology is Great For Metal Signs, But is it Good Or Bad For Customer Service

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A little while ago my spouse was having a problem with one of his many high tech "toys". We called the customer support center where we sat on hold for 47 minutes! While we waited I was surfing the web on my laptop. I came across a cool web page about old fashioned tin metal signs. I pointed it out to my husband because the metal signs we sell today are a big improvement. My husband said that it was a shame that customer service hasn't improved the way metal signs had. He was a a bit angry from waiting for someone to answer his call, but it did get me to thinking.

If we can use technology to make better metal signs, than surely we can us it to improve on customer service!

Back in the day metal signs were made from tin. It was pressed and painted to look like the customer wanted. However, tin metal signs didn't always hold up and last as long as they should. People started experimenting with new techniques, and now aluminum is the choice for metal signs. Aluminum metal signs look great and stand up to the test of time.

On the other hand, customer service seems to be in a slow fall. Customer service used to be taken more seriously. Friendly staff were always in the store or available by telephone. They listened to what you asked and answered your questions. They actually cared about your issues and they made you feel like a real person. These days, however technology seems to have robbed the customer service experience in many businesses.

Nearly everyone has had the conversation about trying to reach a "real person" when they are trying to express an issue to a company. They pushed button after button in attempts to finally speak to someone, simply to be told that no one was around to take their call. On a computer you send an email (because you know no human will be answering the phone) and all you get is an automated response telling you someone will respond by the next day. Somehow that email with the answer never arrives. So you walk into a store and try to ask a question in person, but the person only knows how to quote prices or give a prepared speech. They don't seem to even know anything about the products themselves.

Take one step forward with metal signs and two steps back with customer service

Your custom metal sign is just a portion of an entire marketing program that you have to put together to help your business grow. If marketing is about standing out in the crowd and attracting attention, why not use it for customer service? A little bit goes a long way when it comes to how your clients and potential customers view your business. Why not send an unexpected follow up email to make sure that they are pleased with your company. This is not about making an additional sale, but rather to simply make sure they are happy. Or occasionally call a customer to thank them for their business. Again this is not a sales call, it is customer service, plain and simple.

My husband and I own a sign company, and we take these steps and more to promote customer service in our company. And while we may be forward thinking when it comes to signs, we prefer to remain a bit old fashioned in our customer service.

Sadly, that was not the case for the company my husband was trying to reach. When somebody finally came on the phone he said that he was handling customer service for additional companies at the same time. I think that was about the time my husband gave up. He thanked the man on the phone and hung up. He assures me that the next time we shop he will not be buying products from that same company....or ever for that matter.

A little food for thought, isn't it?

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