For a change, we praise good after-sales service

Raw Deal got a very nice, and (we think) quite significant email from Isobel Gilmour last week.

Isobel told us: “I would just like to write to you to tell you of a company that gives a very good after-sales service.

“Just under two years ago I purchased a Belling range cooker.

“After a few months the knobs began to break until, eventually, I was left with only two of them working.

“Although I knew it was by that time out of warranty, I sent an email to Belling customer services last Thursday, informing them of this – although not really expecting that anything would be done.

“However, the very next day I received an email from them apologising for my problems.

“It also told me that I would receive a new set of knobs within two to five working days.

“This duly happened and I now have a full set of working knobs for my cooker. It is like new again.

“I think this is exceptional customer service.

“I thought it would be nice to acknowledge this by writing to you with some good news, instead of complaining about bad service. “I hope that you will agree with me.” Isobel, we certainly do. On behalf of Isobel, we’d like to say “well done” to Belling.

Our job is to fight against bad service, but we know there are also many companies out there who provide excellent customer care.

And they deserve to be praised, indeed celebrated, for this.

If only more companies would act like this.

The importance of personal recommendations and positive word-ofmouth publicity is enormous.

When you, as a consumer, hear a friend say they have been treated very well by a company, it carries a great deal of power. You will very probably think: “I’d like to use that firm’s services too”.

Decades ago, before the internet existed, a company lived and died on its reputation in the local community, which was fed by personal opinions..

Modern recommendation websites try to fill this area these days, and do quite a good job.

They are useful for checking whether a company you are considering using is staffed by cowboys, but equally good when you want to distinguish the merely acceptable from the truly exceptional.

It would be a foolish company that didn’t recognise this.

There are, however, no shortcuts for them. It isn’t enough to claim they provide good after-sales service, they have to continually prove it.

There is only one way a company will earn a good reputation in the community – they have to consistently look after their customers.

Not just here and there, and not just now and again, but every customer, in every area, every time.

The good news for them is that this should pay off for the armies of men and women in these companies who are doing their very best.

Indeed, it deserves to pay off. Good service should mean good sales.

When you hear of a reliable, caring, honest company – spend your money with them.

The side-effect of gathering a list of who provides excellent customer care and good value should be that companies which don’t perform so well suffer and, hopefully, learn a lesson.

Let’s hear it for the good guys as well as castigating the bad guys.

Is there a company you have received good service from? A shop that genuinely helps when you need it? A holiday firm that ensures you have a great time? A plumber who turns up when he says he will and does reliable work at a good price? Or anything else?

Tell us about it, send us an email at: rawdeal@sundaypost.com