letters and views Editor’s note: We’ve all heard the popular phrase, “The customer is always right.” Over the years, companies that deal directly with customers and strive to provide a high level of service have gone to great lengths to ensure customer satisfaction. Especially today, when dollars are pre-cious and word of mouth is everything, these companies must work even harder to keep every account as well as gain new business. Building service contractors (BSCs), and even in-house cleaning personnel, must pro-vide such quality service. Competition is high in the BSC field. Additionally, with customers’ use of tech-nology and the Internet, good or bad reviews of your company and its customer service may only be a few clicks away. One CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® reader, Frank Daddario, actu-ally looks to validate his service by leaving a notebook behind for customers to jot down comments, questions and observations. The following discussion on the cmmon-line.com Bulletin Board questioned the old phrase, “Is the customer always right?” Board members offer their advice, for bet-ter or worse … Responses: Chaz Townsend 1/16/2009 Frank, I’m confused. Is that really how you terminated this client? If he was truly complaining about such a petty thing, I sure understand your point. Personally, I’ve had my fair share of very picky and flat unreasonable customers. Some, we can work through the issues. Some we can never and it ends up being necessary to move on. I would like to make note on something, though. Everybody works for someone. It doesn’t matter if you are a janitor or Chairman of the Board for a Fortune 500 company ... everyone is accountable to someone. Being in business enables you to con-trol your personal situation more than working for an employer. But it doesn’t guarantee you won’t have your fair share of problems with your true boss — [the] customer. We deal with more [complaints] being in business for ourselves than we ever did working for some other company. Bottom line, I understand your frustra-tion. But it would be in your best interest to evaluate how you handle or terminate future customers. need of calibration?” I typically deal with the absurd by being absurd. I certainly wouldn’t fire the client over this absurdity. More than likely, they noticed something “off” and probably had a real issue that they’ve obscured with this absurd one. I started my business originally so that I didn’t have to work for jerks. This doesn’t rise to sufficient “jerkiness” in my opinion. Joseph J. Russell 1/17/2009 I believe that slogan (the customer is always right) was coined long ago by a salesman, who has nothing to do with car-rying out the service he is selling. Don’t get me wrong, it has a place, but I don’t think it should be carved in stone at the “Cathedral of Cleaning Gods.” Sure, there is no reason for a customer to be like that. But assuming they are not, it just tells you something about them. And you should [be thankful] that you don’t have to spend the full day, everyday, with them. But Bob, if some contractor gave me an answer like yours, I’m certain I would rise to the level of “sufficient jerkiness” and jerk them out of my building. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Ron Segura 1/16/2009 Dwayne Reed 1/17/2009 1/100th of an inch! I would have taken it as a joke. Posted by: Frank Daddario 1/16/2009 I leave a notebook for customer contact persons at each account we do. I had been doing a small machining out-fit for about six months and one night this was written in the book, “How come every time you clean, the pictures are 1/100th of an inch off?” I replied, “With such a great eye you should open your own cleaning business because this one doesn’t work for you anymore.” I started my own business so I would-n’t have to work for jerks like that; [I’ve] been doing it for 21 years and still going strong. Was it your contact that entered the com-ment? Did you have any personal contact with them or was the communication by means of the book. Maybe they had a bad day, or if this was an ongoing problem, then a face-to-face meeting might have been in order. You are right, you do not have to be treated in that manner, but going in and stating your feelings and then quitting might have been more professional. Ken Galo 1/19/2009 I would have gone in on the next sched-uled cleaning and re-hung one picture — upside-down and never say a word to any-one. Sometimes you have to deliver a quiet message. Frank Daddario 1/19/2009 Guys, thanks for your input. It’s always good to see how other people would have handled the situation. Let me explain that we did have other interest-ing entries in the book the previous six months, but the use of “every time” sent me over the edge. Bob The Cleaner 1/16/2009 My response? “Are you sure? Because after dusting, we re-adjust all hanging arti-facts using a micrometer adjusted by our on-staff Cal-Tech Physics graduate. Perhaps you’re measuring equipment is in 8 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • March 2009
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