I love that @LTS_Tom has the phones set up this way, mainly the attitude that service is first before sales! Not just with the phones, but also in the entire company. This aspect of service first in all service-based companies is sadly becoming exceedingly rare!
If nothing else, that is the key take away of this talk!
Sadly, imho, widespread Customer Service started leaving us in the 80âs, and by the 90âs, only small companies still had any semblance of CS. These days, finding âqualityâ customer service is a rare find, and the younger generation has been brought up not knowing what it even is. As a consequence, like everything else they werenât taught/learned, they look at us with mistrust and bewilderment because weâre nice. We also look at them a certain way as well, but weâre old and allowed. lol
Iâm not sure about in LA, but out here in the desert, the gen Z hardly looks up from their phone long enough to notice that someone is being nice at all. Millennials are a different story, at least the desert rats I deal with, they do have the distrust at someone being nice and friendly. And they donât have a clue how to react when CS is at a level I would consider passable! The Walmart here (the only âreal storeâ to speak of within an hours drive) has a reputation of donât bother looking for help in the store, and at checkout, youâre lucky if you get a âhiâ or even a smile!
Sadly, even the small âMom n Pop Shopsâ around here are about the same!
Generation issues aside, as thatâs an entire topic imo; when you live in a âone horse townâ, and your choices are limited to start with, thereâs little incentive for anyone/anything to be nice or customer first. You either deal with them, or do it yourself. Sad, but the era we live in.
I went to see a buddy of mine up in Lancaster/Palmdale area, and was astonished that the âlocalâ walmart was 30min away, when you can drive 50+ on the roads. Than again, I also remember when there was nothing but sand/dirt up there, soâŚ
I maybe old school but itâs always nice to provide good service and sales and provide the support for people who come in. I am a fan of the phone should ring no more then 3 times without having a âliveâ person pick up the phone. If someone needs help they get to a tech right away, if they want a quote or to buy something they go directly to sales who can/will close more sales and turn more âwarmâ leads into closed leads. When I worked support for a large company and answered the phone or email at 8PM at night some customers were shocked and actually became more loyal that they knew if something exploded they could get ahold of someone at the company to at least open a ticket or fix the issue when needed. Iâm not saying do that but itâs always nice to interact directly with prospective customers and is worth the price of admission to have a live person on the phones.