does customer service play a role in your purchase(s)?

*bump* i was just looking over receipts of places i've dealt with and so far there are only a few that i would still deal with. i can't stress enough how important customer service is to me. vendors that take forever to reply to e-mails OR phone calls, or just forgetting about things don't cut it for me, i can only imagine what they would do once they get my money...
 
Tasty said:
Does customer service exist in this country anymore? I don't think it does. It's all about pleasing the shareholder, and nothing else matters. At least, that's the way I see most businesses being run nowadays...
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Yes it does play a big part. I have no qualms about ordering from Zaino, Autopia, Danase, PakShak becuase they ALWAYS answer my emails and questions in less than a day. Places like AutoGeek who dont answer eMails will never get my business again.



Places like AutoBarn and places that do not answer their phone or eMails I will not bother giving my business to.
 
Good thread, BigAl3



Many comments people made here echo my sentiments.



I want someone to be interested in what they're selling/representing. Don't be cheesy, but pay attention to your customer and be honest with them.



I've bought from companies because they were honest with me when they COULDN'T get what I wanted or beat someone's price. I tell them that I appreciate their honesty and their effort and that I'll either be back or that I'll buy from them at that time.



Price is tertiary in my purchasing.

This is a practice I created for my company and still practice today as an individual.



First: does the company have the product/service I'm after?

Second: does the company/rep treat me with honesty while they work with me?

Third: is the price in line with what I can/am willing to spend?



Price is important, but not if I have to bend over backwards, have my account charged twice, get damaged shipments, or hope that I get a response to voice or email. The extra cost sometimes involved is the price I pay for an honest, reputable transaction.



I left one PBE vendor because the owner simply lied to me, time and again. Several of his employees left for this very reason: I ended up buying from them when they went to work for one of his competitors.



In so many services and products, competition is fierce. We can get what we want in this country and really take that to be our right, not just good fortune. With this in mind, I like to deal with people who want my business.
 
Being in business myself I understand the reality (and explain to our customers) why we can't have the lowest price on items and why we don't even try(we can't compete with WM, Lowes, HD etc). So price is always secondary. Good service is huge. A good reputation is also important. I pretty much always soft sell my customers. Hard selling is a huge turnoff to me. I also am of the opinion that I'm in business to provide the best service I can to my customer and not simply to compete against another business.
 
Three things I look at are price, customer service and knowledge of the product they make/sell. I place about equal emphasis on these three. Some of you may say knowledge of product is part of customer service but I break it out due to an experience I had with a local retailer.



This guy has been in the business for over 30 years selling the same brand that entire time, you would think he would know the brands products even better than the manufacturers customer service reps on the phone. I have always felt his prices are fair (price), he is willing to go just about any distance to help you with a product, he even stayed with me after closing time at the store once (customer service), but so many times I have received wrong info from him. The reason I know the info is wrong is because I will visit the manufacturers website periodically to read about products or call the 1-800 line to ask about products or read about the products here and find out he was wrong (knowledge of product). So I generally only buy products from him that I am already fimiliar with and know how to use properly.
 
Customer service is very important but what do you do when the retailer you dont like is the only place to get what you need? There is one place in particular I absolutly hate going (non detailing related) to because I end up waiting at the service counter for around 8-10 minutes on average before someone finally comes to help me , and then they act like I am bothering them! And even worse is that they have a big glass wall to the main office so its not like they dont see me. They dont like it when I pull up a chair and stare at them untill someone comes out :D This has been going on for almost 10 yrs.



I dont buy 2 $40.00 items from these guys, I spend thousands! I only go there when my normal parts house simply cannot get what I need or my customer will suffer if I dont go there, and I wont let that happen. I sometimes pay more through my normal place but when I walk in the jokes start flying and everybody knows your name like cheers lol. They have set me up at seminars, trade shows for the weekend, all paid for! And more important to me is they go the extra mile to find the specialty items that I need and tell me the truth if the shipping is delayed or ordered late. Sometimes they eat the shipping etc and somtimes I eat the high price so it evens out.



Edit:I forgot about this thread and I think it's important to point out that I started a e-business and advertise here in the market place. I stopped posting for a bit after I opened up because I didn't want to be considered dishonest and mention products that I now sell. After talking to David B I am posting again under strict rules about product promotion.



Dave
 
if i receive bad customer service or treated like i don't exist/matter, i'll take my $'s elsewhere even if i have to pay a few bucks more...



p.s. at a dealership i bought my car, i'm having problems with my aftermarket alarm they sold me (it's currently not working), and twice they said they would call me when the remotes came in (they already had the alarm and said they were waiting on the remotes) to replace the one i have since i have a lifetime warranty on the whole alarm (horn, remotes, brain, etc). would it be pushing it to ask them for the factory alarm since i'm going through this BS or what? i know they don't offer lifetime warranties on anything, but in my situation i got it because the salesperson was dishonest to me, when i was thinking i was getting a factory alarm... :mad:
 
for me a big part is customer service.



on top of that is how their website looks and navigates.



and lastly free shipping is a deal breaker for me.



i order all my aftermarket car parts from protegegarage.com Ken(who owns PG) is a physical person you can talk to on the phone, and sorts things out with you right then and there. Not to mention, its free shipping for the entire site. Its alot like dealing with Phil at DD, or patrick at excel.



When I order detailing products i try to order from a vendor that has everything ill need in 1 order at a good price. That way im not ordering from several vendors and paying massive amounts in shipping.
 
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