Good Ole Fashioned Customer Service Using The Best Of Email And Social Media
By: Sandi Krakowski
This past November, my youngest son, who is now a full grown taller than me young man, turned 16! Not only did we celebrate in Texas for his birthday, but he began to share with me about his dream for a custom drum set…
Bobby has been playing drums for a few years now. With his Mom encouraging him to 'tune in' to multiple different styles and kinds of music, he's become so masterful that he now leads worship at our church, playing drums, and also has had several opportunities open to do the same at other occasions.
Drums are Bobby's passion! He hears beats in his head. He can pick out beats from any music he hears and listens to a lot of music every single day. It's not uncommon to see Bobby listening to music, while also doing something else.. and then he's off 'dreaming' as he tunes into the beat.
This is a kid chasing after his passion!
Alan and I have invested into his passion as well because we really do believe God is using his hands to change sounds and atmospheres in the earth! We've also talked about sending him to a Music College in Australia when he graduates to expose him to the BEST there is, at Hillsong School Of Music.
After much thought and talking about what he'd like to do for his birthday, Bobby's dream gift was to have a custom made drum! Woohoo! Off we went to find the BEST place to order his drum….. with the full intention that we'd be eventually ordering him a full custom set this year that would most likely follow him for many many years into his dream and passion with drums.
I have to be honest with you, after running companies online for the last 15 years…. it is nearly impossible for me to not want to 'rate and critique' the companies I do business with. It's not in a wrong sense of the word, but actually, to see how I can help.
People come to me every single day, through our social media presence, our online and offline publications, our more than 29 information products and through our coaching groups to get help in taking their business to the next level. So it's not uncommon for me to just 'live' in that mode wherever I go.
Shopping for a custom drum…. online.
The world of drums is a fun world… run by creative genius' who tend to be more nocturnal than the average bear. (grin)…. they are those who don't fit into society, tend to make stuffy educators irritated and attract the like of hard noses who would prefer they were medicated and settled down.
But thank you GOD for these genius'! They bring us music, change atmospheres and inspire us all to be more!
Bobby is often times referred to as my "Caboose"….. he's the 'last cart' in the Krakowski Train. 🙂 He's the one who has taught his Momma how to 'chilax' and take it easy for awhile. It was Bobby who singlehandedly helped his mother learn that FUN wasn't just reserved for weekends….. and he taught me how to dance to a different beat. I love Bobby so much because in all of his wildness and passion, he has a kind heart, respects me beyond what I deserve and has a keen ear to hear the voice of God amidst his beats. He's a Rockstar if you ask me!
Drummers definitely march to a different beat….. and finding a great place to order a drum became our task!
We were THRILLED to find SJC Custom Drums! Well, let me rephrase that, Bobby has been following them and watching the power of what they do with drums for quite some time… Mom learned about them when Bobby got SERIOUS about his purchase!
Our conversations with SJC were not only amazing, but very professional and helpful. They used both email and the phone to make sure that we were on the right track with that Bobby wanted.
I was blown away when Bobby began to rattle of the specs, facts, figures and even the kind of wood he was dreaming of…. and really IMPRESSED when Geo, who helped us with our entire order, got everything Bobby needed perfectly!
Here are a few tips for the BEST customer service using email and social media-
#1- Always affirm your clients and confirm what they have asked for. Geo was a SUPER STAR with this.. and we had a lot of emails! Bobby emailed him from my account and I would interject. Geo was always on top of it.. affirming and confirming. It made us confident and it made his job easier, to create the drum of our dreams!
#2- Be pleasant, happy and easy to talk to! One of my MAJOR PET PEEVES is when I write to a company online and the reply is something like this:
"Yes "
Client care, Silly company online who hasn't trained their staff
Or worse yet, like this,
"That's what I said below."
Customer support, with no personal skills and very little patience
Be positive, be easy to work with and take the time to answer what people ask you. There's no need to get into personal conversations or counseling but be friendly and "Deliver Happiness" as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappo's teaches. (BTW our company was featured in Tony's Delivering Happiness book tour!)
#3- Take high touch and high tech to a new level! Use pictures, Jing.com or other tools to really explain things. Geo was sending us pictures and samples through email and it made it so much easier to get things exactly as we wanted them.
#4- Answer emails, be bright, brief and be on task! I'm not suggesting you be available 24/7 for customers and I'm certainly not suggesting you answer every single email that comes to your In Box for that matter… some don't need answers. But answer your clients emails quickly.
Be bright, be brief and be ON TASK!
SJC has also done a great job with their social media presence! You can see A LOT of photos on their Facebook page of other snares, kits and more they're doing! You can even some behind the scenes 'cool stuff'! Don't ever miss this! Seeing HOW these drums are created and the workers behind the labor is a great way to build relationship with your customers!
This was the FUNNEST thing I saw happen…. when Bobby's drum arrived it came with a BIRTH CERTIFICATE!! That is amazing!
Very unique, very memorable! Branding at it's finest!
SJC Drums not only created for us a DREAM COME TRUE in our perfect drum, they have won our business for life! We're already working with Bobby to map out getting his entire kit done!
Good ole fashioned customer service goes a LONG way! Give it your best and deliver happiness daily!
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
