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| follow up after price/billing complaints |
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Have a letter ready to go to customers who call complaining about prices. We've trained more than 3,000 oil heat customer service reps to deal with price inquiries better and I can tell you this—most of them don't do the job the way you want. Imagine what happens when your customer gets off the phone with a rep who hasn't done a very good job of explaining why the price is so high? What do you think they tell their spouse, their friends, etc.
Do a little damage control by creating a letter that automatically goes out after such a call. It works even better if it has the owner's photo on it. It would go something like this "I understand you called our office because you were concerned about how high your oil bill has risen. I can't blame you. We hate it too. I hope our customer service representative explained to you that..." Go on to fill in the blanks about why you think prices have risen, and what they can do about it next year with you (budget, price protection, etc.) Emphasize that you do not take their business for granted, and that you look forward to the time when world prices drop and you can charge them less. You should also include something like our new bill insert "Why are we paying so much for our oil?" because it makes a strong case that local guys like you aren't making more money just because prices are high.
Does it take a little effort to do this? Yes, but not a hell of a lot. Consider the cost of replacing the account if they leave, and you'll find that a little goes a long way.
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