Business not calling back

[530RL]

One of the hardest things people struggle with both in their personal as well as professional life is with saying ”no”. And organizations are just a collection of people. People don‘t want to generally disappoint others or miss out on an opportunity so “no“ is very difficult.

Teaching an organization when and how to say “no” is a key skill necessary for the organization to set and achieve appropriate productivity goals as well as customer service levels.

 

[jetboatperformance]

I literally work 7 14's , for 20 years Rhonda and I worked 6 to 6 1/2 days a week for our two business's Our "home office" is every bit as equipt as my shop and we work from home alot . All my phone lines eventually ring to my cell and We get constant calls, texts , direct messages and emails by the dozens everyday and miss answering or responding very few , Its a "curse" sometimes but i'm committed to it and thrive on being busy That only "bad" part is I expect the same from others (Vendors , suppliers etc ) and very few are willing to work that way . I have 2 CNC shops and three machine shops and a dozen vendors spinning constantly and all are 9 to 5 'rs My "business model" is clearly different and I have respect others who dont work that way , but for fucks sake when they get the message/email/text call us back the next work day !! sadly Old fashioned customer service is DEAD

 

[Go-Fly]

Running a business is no fun. Working the business is were you can show your trade and mark results. Most people today love to work their business and just want to do that. Running the business does nothing but cost you money. The list is so long we could have a whole thread about shit you have to do that you or your employees dont get paid for but, you have to cover the cost. Why is customer service the first to be cut? Because we are lazy and want to make as much money as we can, with the least amount of work. That is what our schools teache us. There are going to be big changes coming. If you don't know how to run a business, you're out.
I got into the vape business when it got started. It didnt take me long to figure out that I was going to spend more money on customer service then I would make in profit. Closed out and the wifes cousin is still running the prepackaged juice end where the money is.

 

[Racer56]

One of the hardest things people struggle with both in their personal as well as professional life is with saying ”no”. And organizations are just a collection of people. People don‘t want to generally disappoint others or miss out on an opportunity so “no“ is very difficult.

Teaching an organization when and how to say “no” is a key skill necessary for the organization to set and achieve appropriate productivity goals as well as customer service levels.

I have a big problem with this, as I love to take care of every customer I deal with. My business partner is Mr. No and keeps reminding me that we are maxed out and that I need to say no more. It's a work in progress, but I am getting a lot better at saying the "N" word.

 

[Go-Fly]

I have a big problem with this, as I love to take care of every customer I deal with. My business partner is Mr. No and keeps reminding me that we are maxed out and that I need to say no more. It's a work in progress, but I am getting a lot better at saying the "N" word.

I never had a problem telling a customer no. Most would thank you for being honest. When I got in trouble was when I would put such a high number on a bid thinking there was no way they would take it and they do. Who of us hasn't done that? Lessons learned are always hard on you.

 

[was thatguy]

One of the hardest things people struggle with both in their personal as well as professional life is with saying ”no”. And organizations are just a collection of people. People don‘t want to generally disappoint others or miss out on an opportunity so “no“ is very difficult.

Teaching an organization when and how to say “no” is a key skill necessary for the organization to set and achieve appropriate productivity goals as well as customer service levels.

아니요

 

[DRYHEAT]

아니요

네

 

[was thatguy]

네

그의 위선은 끝이 없다

 

[DRYHEAT]

그의 위선은 끝이 없다

It can be a double edged sword.

 

[CarolynandBob]

I think the key to improving the results of incoming calls is to reduce them. The better we do being ahead of current customers with technology keeping them informed reduces incoming calls. An example is service customers. If you are updated of all work flow and status changes on your vehicle by a simple text, you don’t call for updates. If you get a text with a video showing what we found and can agree or decline the repair with your phone hours can be saved in communication. If you get your invoice and can check out via online payment you spend less time in front of advisor. All things that make the current customer have a better experience improves incoming call availability for the advisor. We know the most important customer is the one in front of you, but the next is the one inquiring, can’t afford to loose either.

This

When I was working. One of the first things I did at the start of the day after talking with the work crews. I would text or send a short email to the superintendent of the jobs we were working on. We usually had anywhere from 10-20 different projects going. A simple " Crew will still be at your jobsite this Thursday" . Takes a few seconds and then I don't have to spend 10 min on the phone with them when they call to find out when the guys will be there.

 

[Go-Fly]

This

When I was working. One of the first things I did at the start of the day after talking with the work crews. I would text or send a short email to the superintendent of the jobs we were working on. We usually had anywhere from 10-20 different projects going. A simple " Crew will still be at your jobsite this Thursday" . Takes a few seconds and then I don't have to spend 10 min on the phone with them when they call to find out when the guys will be there.

It doesn't take much to stay ahead and not ball up time in front of you. How a business manages their calls is exactly how they run their jobs or shop. Has nothing to do with the quality of work.

 

[petie6464]

Exactly this.

Sounds like you need to expand your operation!

 

[Cobalt232]

As recently as last week, we have had to restrict ordering on our website to existing customers. I hate turning away business, but with the staffing and supply issues we need to prioritize existing customers first. Most customers understand.

Our average order value is $53.00. With that low of an order value, we decided early to not publish a phone number for our direct-to-consumer site. In the rare case a customer does find our phone number, it is a total time sucker for the customer service employees. They spend the most time on the least value customers.

Instead of just relying on standard email, we use helpdesk software by https://cerb.ai/ We have used their stuff for about 12 years now and I can't imagine customer service without it, or a similar solution. We have about 500 emails come into that software daily and it will automatically parse emails into 'buckets' depending on content, etc.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Ive seen call-out threads, but never a call-back thread,

Does it follow the usual chain of events?

 

[jet496]

Sounds like you need to expand your operation!

Yup, we are in training for the rest of this month implementing a new software platform to help solve scheduling, communication, estimating & pretty much everything. Very intense. Hopefully it does the trick. Otherwise I was perfectly happy with my existing customer base I had for the last 30 years, but my son is all about expanding to take advantage of the potential out there.

 

[Kachina26]

I get the frustration. But put yourself on the other end of the phone.

You get tons of calls but there is no possible way to service everyone. You have a core group of customers that get priorities. All your guys are working. You don't have openings for weeks, months maybe. You are going in early, leaving late, working yourself, and the phone doesn't stop ringing. It has been this way for years now. You're fucking tired.

You don't need more business, you can't keep up with what you have now. How much of your day are you going to spend fielding calls for work you can't do?

The calls go to voice mail. You come home tired and frustrated because whatever thing it was you were working on went sideways. Now you have 27 phone calls to return. For work you can't get to anyway.

You could hire more employees, but we all know how new hires are most of the time. Training them will just slow down your already overloaded staff. And they'll probably quit anyway.

Totally understandable. But maybe on the VM outgoing message a business could say something like, "We appreciate your call, but due to an overwhelming amount of business, we can't give you the service you deserve and that we're known for and as a result are not taking on any new business. Sorry for the inconvenience.".