There’s no point pretending we are all perfect in business. We’re not. And we shouldn’t say we are.
Problems will always occur in our line of work. Tens of thousands of frames and door sets are made every week and there is bound to be a problem with the odd one or two. When people are involved in the manufacturing process, there always will be.
The same goes with the installation side of our business. People have to fit these windows and doors and over time, there is bound to be an error made.
So there are problems. But it’s not the problems that can cause issues for businesses, but it’s the way they are dealt with. We live our lives on social media and for those who were on Twitter a few days ago you will have seen Bude Windows airing their frustrations with Solidor. What this showed was that if there are problems, they probably will make their way to the rest of the world pretty quickly.
Solving what ever the issue is, is always the best way to put and end to a disagreement. And it is how the problem is dealt with which is key. It is important for business, in any stage of the chain, to make sure that outstanding issues are resolved quickly, promptly and so that all parties involved are happy with the final outcome.
Many of the gripes we talk about in this industry are due to a lack of action by those who have caused the issues. It may seem simple that problems should be being dealt with quickly. Yet lack of communications, little effort or no action at all is what cause a lot of us, including me, to go to social media to complain publicly in order to get action.
In 2012, many installers went online to complain about one of the biggest composite door manufacturers. This is the risk in this day and age. So, no matter what part of the chain your business is in, if you have a problem, solve it quickly and make sure the final outcome pleases the client. People are more impressed with how problems are solved.
We get let down by suppliers all the time…unfortunately this is just the case in our industry. We have changed suppliers a few time over the last few years, and now we’re pretty much set with the best of a bad bunch. We dont expect every single order to be complete and correct every single time, we are not that unrealistic, but what we do want is suppliers who react quickly to a complaint. We are becoming increasingly annoyed at companies who just hide behind terms and conditions and offer sub-standard customer service as a result. If our glass company… Read more »
Ben, you need to get System 3 in your life. We’ve been with them for over 20 years. Units are never missed off & if one breaks it comes to you next day. They’re a one off in our industy. http://www.system3.ltd.uk/S3Web/default.html
@ Ben – Sounds like it makes sense to impose some T&Cs on the supplier(s in the event of failing to perform to the standards you expect. And at least only choose those suppliers that operate to a recognised Quality System (not just about product quality, but processes too) ISO9000 and all that… Their procedures ought to document what they will do in the event of failures in their quality process (which should include accurately completing an order on time). If they don’t have that level of documented procedure then you are at risk of being left with holding the… Read more »