 I am sure that all of you are on the patio having a beverage on this beautiful day and you are trying hard to put the work week out of your mind. However, I want to plant a seed in your head for Monday morning. I have spent the past month and a half dealing with other service businesses or trying to find a business to perform a service for me. My roof was in desperate need of replacement following some pretty big early spring storms. We interviewed a few companies that were quick to return our calls and give us estimates on the roof repair and from that selected a very reputable company. That was the end of the open communication. The company did not let us know the day the project would begin, the workers just showed up one day and began working. When the project was completed no company representative came to inspect the work and give us a final bill. When the roof failed inspection we had to contact them. When we were waiting for the repairs to be completed no one called to let us know of the time line or the fixes they proposed. We had to contact them and it took several phone calls to make a connection. They failed to communicate. My sister in-law and I have been working to settle the estate of my in-laws. We have been taking all the heirloom items and distributing them and clearing out all the trash. We were left with a house FULL of stuff that we needed to sell, get the house empty and then sell the house. First we tried some of my auction house friends and they were at least professional enough to say that they were very busy and wouldn't be able to get to us for a couple of months. We decided to try Estate Sales companies and I began to research them. I made a couple of calls and finally got a company to return my call and meet with us. They promised to let us know if they would be able to schedule us in within one day. Three days and three unreturned phone calls later I moved on. The next company returned my call and has agreed to meet us...we will see where this goes. All this to drive home a point. We may have our businesses on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google but we are forgetting to communicate with our clients. The basics of any business is building a clientele. We do that by providing a good or service that our client is willing to pay for and if they are satisfied with their purchase they will return again to our door. The only way to do this is to establish and maintain communication even after the sale is complete. There is never an acceptable reason for not returning a call in a timely manner. It takes longer to take a picture and upload it on Facebook than it does to call a client. When I worked in the corporate world I was successful because I was quick and efficient in providing information and services to my clients. Twenty-four hours, every call returned and every email answered within 24 hours. When someone asks me about three of the estate sale companies I called and one that I met with, I can honestly say that I don't have a recommendation because they never returned my calls. That alone will not build business but ruin it. No matter how hard you work. This is also true for our personal lives. We tweet, post, snap and google but when was the last time you called someone and talked to them...a real conversation? How many times do we say, "I have been meaning to call them but I just don't have time."? Those tweets, posts and pics do not tell you what is going on in their lives, it does not connect you, it does not replace the human need to share and connect. So pick up the phone, drive to their house, meet for coffee, but communicate.
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