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We've branched
out and added a new Desk Top Publishing division complete with
full color printing capabilities. With our strategic alliances
with local vendors, we can design, print, and mail targeted
marketing campaigns such as:
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Postcards
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Flyers
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Handouts
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Business
cards
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Newsletters
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and lots
more!!
See samples
on the last page. Give us a call to see how we can help you, or
to request a sample of some of our work.
Net Watch
HOOVER DODGE
Putting Service back into Customer Service?
[Top] [News] [Net Watch] [Product
Review]
For the past several months I have
been observing business etiquette when related to customer
service. I grew up hearing the phrase “The customer is ALWAYS
right” and my father, in particular, was a stickler for good
customer service and customer satisfaction. My observations of
late, however, have not proved the above phrase to be true! In
fact as you will hear in one of our stories we even had a
manager tell us we were unrealistic in our expectations and we
were wrong, something I was told was NEVER to be said to a
customer/client. Here are some accounts of what I have noticed
and what I would like to see changed.
Let’s start
with the most recent purchase as it’s most fresh in my mind.
Rick and I had been looking at potentially trading in our van.
We wanted to:
-
lower our
monthly payments
-
get a new
warranty (as the one on our present vehicle was about to run
out)
-
get a NEW
vehicle (if possible)
-
get better
gas mileage
-
and
basically see if we could better the financial position we
were in.
We traded in
our old van and bought our current 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
at Hoover Dodge in Summerville in March 2002 for the purchase
price of around $19,000. This was an impulse buy. We were in the
area, had a salesman like a bulldog and we were fresh bait. We
had extreme buyers remorse the next day however as we realized
we’d more than doubled our monthly payments for the same vehicle
just slightly newer with less miles and more gadgets. Don’t get
me wrong, we loved our new van, but we definitely went through
buyers remorse with this vehicle. Our remorse was compounded by
the fact that not 2 months after having the vehicle it broke
down leaving us stranded with a non-functioning transmission
sensor - NOT covered by the extended warranty. They fixed the
transmission for $200. Shortly thereafter we noticed the van had
a severe hesitation in hot weather. We took it in to be fixed
and were again irritated by the fact that this too was not
covered by the extended warranty. This problem was never
resolved.
In Nov 2003 (18
months after we purchased the 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan SE at
Hoover in Summerville SC) we went back to the same Hoover
dealership to see what they could do for us to help us reach the
goals we had with hopefully changing vehicles.
Our first
statement to them was that we wanted to give them our
information and then we were going to go shopping while they
worked out some kind of financial plan for us and gave us
options for vehicles suitable to us. Our salesman said “Wal Mart
is open 24 hours a day, just give us 5 minutes of your time”.
I was not
impressed!! This man seemed to think that OUR time and OUR
plans were not as important as buying a car at Hoover Dodge.
This should’ve been our first clue to RUN! RUN and don’t look
back!! We sat patiently waiting, we went for a couple of test
drives, then went back to their office to discuss options. This
is where the 5 minutes that it was supposed to take turned into
over 4 hours! After telling them what we were willing to spend
they worked out a ‘plan’ and brought it back to the table.
Considering we
purchased the van from them not 18 months earlier, we thought
they would give us a good trade-in for it. They came back and
offered us $5,000 for our van and said that it had been in an
accident and been sprayed over. When we purchased this vehicle
from them 18 months earlier this was not mentioned to us and we
had never had an accident in the 18 months during which we owned
it! Also, my husband does his homework before making any large
purchases and he’s aware of the difference between black book,
blue book and NADA. (I however am clueless so will leave him to
explain all of that in his version of this article). The
trade-in value of the van on black book was $7,500 blue book was
$9,000 and NADA was $10,000 so the offer of $5,000 was an
absolute insult. This was our second clue to run… The salesman,
understandably, was now pretty desperate for this sale as it
could’ve been the last one for the day. However since we had
come in with our requirements and they were not able or willing
to meet any of them we told them we weren’t interested. After
haggling and haggling and haggling and haggling we were told by
the salesman “I’m trying to help you but you’re not trying to
help me”. This made me see red!! I am not paid a commission to
help the salesman sell me a car, he is however paid a commission
for selling me a car at a deal I can’t refuse where all parties
win. I was fuming mad and we left with more than the salesman
and manager irritated due to more than 4 hours of wasted time.
Moral of
this story? We were very up front with our goals. When the
salesman did not value our time, it showed us he did not truly
value us as customers. The appropriate approach would have been
to listen to our needs and our goals and tell us plainly whether
or not we were being realistic in our expectations. Had the
salesman taken this approach, he very well could’ve made a sale.
Obviously a salesman’s job is to sell. But his job is also to
try and meet the needs of his customers. If they were truly
concerned about customer satisfaction and meeting our needs he
would have spent more time listening and less time talking. This
is good advice for all of us who own small businesses. Our job
is to exceed the expectations of our clients, not just put money
in our pockets.
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Product Review
Radio Shack 6 in 1 Remote
[Top] [News] [Net Watch] [Product
Review]
 Is
someone in your house always complaining about how many remote
you have lying around your living room. I mean come on! It
should not take a degree from MIT to watch a DVD. We had a
remote for the TV, A remote for the VCR, A remote for the DVD
Player, A remote for the Home Theater System. The instructions
we had to leave guests home to watch a move were longer than the
INS Immigration forms.
While visiting
Radio Shack, on Ladson in South Carolina, one of their sales
reps mentioned the 6 in one remote as I was complaining about
keeping track of another remote. (we were in Radio Shack to by a
replacement home theater system for the bedroom) After seeing a
brief demonstration I was willing to pay the costly sum of
$59.99 to give it a try, especially since they have a no
questions asked return policy during the first 90 days.
So we rushed
home and while my husband (Rick) was installing the new home
theater system in the bedroom, I sat down to program the remote.
I had been warned that it would take about 20 minutes… It did
not. It took longer. But it was and has been well worth the time
spent.
The only
problem that I have yet to resolve is I’ve not been able to get
it to work with my DVD/VCR combo unit. There are no listings in
the manual for any DVD/VCR combo units. However, they do have a
number in the manual which you can call to receive upgrades
which I have yet to call. I hoping they will be able to upgrade
the unit to work with our DVD/VCR combo. (follow up article will
be posted soon)
My general
impression of this product - its outstanding! I love the fact
that it lights up as soon as you pick it up or it is moved, so
you can see every button clearly. A second really nice feature
is its simplicity. For example when you want to turn on your TV
you push the TV button and power. While in TV mode only the
functions relevant to your TV are illuminated on the remote.
When you select VCR, DVD, Audio, etc, you get only the functions
relevant to your selection. This really helps to keep it simple
(K.I.S.S. Principle at work). Perhaps the most impressive
attribute of this remote is its range. I was able to control the
systems from over 20 feet away. I am so impressed with this
product and its simplicity that I going to get a second unit for
our bedroom. Instead of using 5 remotes I now use only one.
P.S. Anyone
need some left over remotes? Maybe eBay… ;o)
Please send
any questions about, or ideas for product reviews to
staff@dogriverdesign.com
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