Stillwater Wood and Iron: Lessons in Customer Service

Posted by Jesse Kliza in Business, Customer Service

I just got off the phone with the owner of Stillwater Wood and Iron, a small solid wood furniture manufacturer and retailer in the area, and I wanted to pass along a few small reminders about great customer service.

I recently bought a small table and chairs set there, and while I was there I looked for a TV cabinet but couldn’t find anything in the size I needed. The owner took down all my measurements, and said he would check with all of his suppliers to see if he could find something to meet my needs.

I called him today, and he immediately remembered who I was, and must have had the measurements somewhere close by, because he referenced the size right away. He apologized, and said that he hadn’t found anything just yet, but that he was going to call around some more and call me back this weekend. (I bet he calls later today)

When we ended the call, he thanked me for considering his business again, and for my past business and for my fathers business, who bought a set of dinning room chairs from him and picked them up the same day I had picked up my table and chairs.

The point of this post is that he did a few simple things, that are very important when interacting with customers:

1) He didn’t make excuses. He simply apologized that he hadn’t met my needs yet. He then set a time for when he would follow up with me next.

2) He thanked me for continuing to consider him for my furniture needs, and also thanked me for my previous purchases – AND the purchases of someone (my Dad) I had referred.

Just a quick post to highlight some small things in the way of customer interaction that make a big difference.