This is another post on great customer service.
Recently, we needed some body work done on our 12 year old BMW. As usual, I was traveling, so Cathy, my wife volunteered to take care of it.
She called the dealer who services the car. They didn’t have a body shop, but referred her to two different body shops with whom they do business…
Cathy called New Concours Cars of Denver first. The guy who answered the phone was very pleasant and treated her with respect. This is not always the case when women deal with car repair shops. She decided to get an estimate from New Concours.
When she arrived there, the good experience continued. The shop is clean. The men who worked there were pleasant. They explained what needed to be done, and went out of their way to find a used replacement part. They gave her an estimate, and said they could get to our car early the next week.
We took the car in on the Monday before the Fourth of July. I met Jeff Kaup, the owner. He apologized because “the estimate on the parts came in a little higher than we expected”. I thought “uh oh, here we go”. It turned out that the new estimate was $20.00 and a few cents higher than the original one.
Jeff’s forthrightness and honesty in making sure that we were completely aware of the minor additional charges impressed me. He printed up a new estimate and said “this one is firm”.
When we were there, I remarked that they had a nice shop (I meant it was clean). Jeff’s assistant said “would you like a tour?” He took me through the entire shop, showing me all of the BMWs on which they were working. We talked about a 1949 Ford coupe that they were rebuilding from the ground up. He showed me how they built a completely new fender for it.
He was extremely proud of their new paint facility. I left feeling very confident that they would do a good job. I remember thinking to myself “anybody who is that proud of what they do, and how they do it, has to be good at what they do” – and I was right.
Jeff called on Thursday, July 6 to tell us the car was ready. When we went to pick it up, the work was impeccable. They matched the paint exactly. The car looks great. We might keep it for another 12 years – (just kidding, Cathy).
New Concours Cars delivers. They do good work. They are honest. They are respectful. They take pride in what they do. The common sense point here is simple. If you want your business to get known for its service, read the four previous sentences – then do exactly the same thing.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense business advice.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
Great story -- thanks -- the brain converts such good news into better business solutions everywhere. seems like a good idea to me.... Thanks for the inspiration Bud.
Posted by: ellenweber | July 14, 2006 at 09:38 AM