The Real Bottom Line is Customer Service

By Sarah Cocchimiglio
PROFIT Communications PR Assistant-Writer/Editor

In the wide world of business a company’s most important responsibility is to keep its customers satisfied and returning for more products and services. Nowadays, excellent customer service is often the only thing that can effectively differentiate you from your competitors. Remember: An unhappy customer will likely become your company’s loss and another competitor’s gain.

Providing quality products and services is obviously a key part of maintaining satisfied customers, but sometimes things happen. We’ve all experienced the box of six frozen fruit bars that contained only five, or the pizza delivered with all of the toppings and cheese stuck to the top of the box, rather than the pizza.

This is where great customer service comes in, because with it, you can still attempt to salvage your company’s relationship with the disappointed customer, thus positively affecting the bottom line short- and long-term

Case in point, I recently took up trail running, and invested in a fairly expensive pair of running sneakers from New Balance. I was disappointed when, after only a few months, the heels started to wear out in both shoes, giving me painful blisters nearly every time I ran. Although I felt the wear was premature, I didn’t think sneakers came with a warranty, and fully expected I’d have to fix them myself or buy a new pair.

I called New Balance’s customer service hotline, hoping they could direct me to someone who could repair the shoes. Instead, the customer service representative told me they would replace the sneakers – who knew! He suggested that the damage was likely from sliding off the sneakers without untying the laces, but that New Balance stands behind their shoes and would be happy to provide me with a comparable replacement pair.

So despite having a mediocre experience with a New Balance product, the company’s commitment to stand behind its products and its dedication to keeping me satisfied means that the next pair of sneakers I buy will probably be New Balance…go figure!

Have you had a similar experience with good customer service? PROFIT Communications would love to hear from you. Please share your story, in about 250 words or less.