THE BEST WAY TO GET A BUSINESS TO RESPOND IS...

Anyone who owns a home knows that the only thing that you can expect on a regular basis is the unexpected. Whenever I’m on the phone, I wander through the house as I talk, noticing all sorts of little house issues—a mark on the wall, a crack in the grout. Although the little things can make me nuts, I have to remind myself that these are not major issues-- everyone has them, and I should focus on the bigger things. So, when the bigger things happened recently, we focused.

The biggest problem was the patio door. It was very difficult to open the door, and the lock was iced over on the inside. Time for a new handle/locking system. Our door was made by a company that guarantees their products for life. Yes, for life. Howard called the company. Oh, yes, the guarantee still stands. But they discontinued this lock. They would supply a new door with their new model lock. Very nice—we just had to get someone to install it. That’s where the problem began.

We found several local contractors who half heartedly said that they could install the door. But finding good service isn’t always as easy as it once was—Angie’s list or no Angie’s list. One contractor wouldn’t accept delivery; the door would have to be delivered to us. That wouldn’t work because the door was huge. Another company wouldn’t take away the old door. Really?! What would we do with a large door that we don’t need?! We finally found a contractor that was a local distributor for our manufacturer. That’s where the next problem began.

The contractor sent an eager beaver salesperson out to give us an installation price. Despite the fact that we were clear about the fact that the manufacturer was supplying the door, the salesperson tried to sell us a new door. After too long, he finally gave us an estimate for installation only—$4200! Forget that! First, we tried to go through supervisors to get an appropriate price. After a little haggling, we were nowhere. So we were prepared to continue our search for a contractor. Before we could start that journey, we found resolution in an email.

After the sales call, we received an email from the contractor. The president of the company sent a pro forma survey. How would we rate our experience? Zut Alors! Here’s my chance to resolve the problem! After completing the survey, I made good use of the comments section. I wrote a simple but powerful sentence: “You probably want to talk to me before I post my negative review online.” That got their attention. The next day, we received a call from the president and the general manager. After hearing my tale of woe, they offered to do the installation for $850, their cost. That’s a savings of $3350! We’ll probably spend it on the next house project, but that’s an issue for another day.

DON’T IGNORE SURVEYS. WRITE THOSE REVIEWS. THEY CAN BE POWERFUL TOOLS FOR PROBLEM RESOLUTION