I’ve previously commented on the poor standard of the letting agents I’ve dealt with (see my post How To Motivate Employees) so it should come as no surprise that once again they’ve disappointed me. After a long list of disappointments I finally did the maths and concluded that it costs me more to use them than I gain. In other words they provide a negative value add. So I wrote to them and fired them.
Oddly I got no response for over a week, then late one afternoon a phone call, which I presumed was to try to keep my business - but nope it was to waste more of my time. So I promptly pointed out that I’d dispensed with their services as I was dissatisfied with the value they add only to be told "I’ve not seen your letter because I’ve been on holiday" followed immediately by "But you can’t do that anyway, we have a three month notice period and we’ll sue…"
Now that’s customer service! It’s just not good customer service though! The right response should have been "I’m sorry to hear that. Would you mind telling me how we have disappointed you?" then after I’ve had a chance to explain it should have been followed by "I’m really sorry that we’ve let you down, what can we do to put this right?" (In other words they should have followed the guidelines in my post How To Deal With Angry Customers).
Had they done so I might have remained a customer - after all I’d rather not spend my time managing the property - but they’d have had to reduce their fee or increase their service to the point that they were adding value. Instead by trying to bully me into staying they’ve lost my business now and in the future plus ensured that I’ll tell others about their poor service.
Oh and I did (as always) very carefully read the contract before signing it, so I know there isn’t a three month notice period.
Now ask yourself, would my staff do this? Have I trained my staff to focus on retaining customers rather than upsetting them?
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
Many businesses engage in limited thinking that results in loss of market share — and it is due to a lack of intelligence.
Most people lack the dynamic type of intelligence necessary to cast their mind over the big picture and grasp all of the nuances. Perhaps only 5% of people have what it takes.
There seems to be a lack of these people to go around, as many corporations have none in key positions.
Because it takes one to know one, as the old saying goes, I suspect that the problem is propagated down the line from the top. If upper management lacks intelligence, then you get more of the same, and exactly what you have experienced.
John
Hi John,
Excellent points… as renter this fills in a few gaps!
Luke
Keeping the customer happy should be a companies top priority but it’s not - profit is.
Caroline,
I disagree, making a profit IS the number one priority of any business. The best way to make a profit however is to keep the customer happy.
My colleague was looking for a house to rent in Docklands area. She found one, is ready to move in and now the lettings agent says they made a mistake and want more money per month, not just £20 but a whopping £150 a month extra ??????? Some of these practices make me angry …
I had similar problems with my ISP. Now i’m battling them to get the contract cancelled.
[...] has a great business blog and I really enjoy reading some of his posts including this one: Remain a Customer Or We’ll Sue You It looks like Beau at TzuVelli has taken his blog down, which is a shame, as it was an enjoyable [...]