Customer Service To Remember

Whenever I have to buy something or even get a quote, I always pay close attention to the service being offered. While I do purchase many products online, the buying experience is still an important one to me which is why, when I receive excellent customer service (and a great price) I always do my best to pay it forward. I have had some atrocious experiences with various companies and at a myriad of stores and dealerships over the years but I have also had some excellent transactions which have made the experience much more pleasant. In those instances, I also make sure to seek that sales person out when returning to the store.

My recent car ordeal was a perfect example of this as I experienced the range of interactions between the various dealerships. Once my brother’s dealership was ruled out (they don’t sell the car that I settled on), I proceeded to stop by a variety of Mercedes dealers to both talk with a sales person and see what price they could offer. My first stop was to Tom Masano in Reading where the sales woman with whom I spoke was excellent and they offered a great price. The second stop was to Mercedes-Benz of Fort Washington where they were less than welcoming and brushed me off not even bothering to follow up with a reasonable offer. The third was to Euro Motorcars of Devon where I received the same excellent experience that I had in Reading and they came back with a better price. Deal done.

More recently, I have experienced the same variety of satisfaction when getting quotes for the initial projects that we wanted to get done around the house. Some of the contractors listened to exactly what I wanted, others just went about designing something that didn’t make much sense at all. Some prices were really high and others were lower than I was expecting. However, while price was an important factor, it was the interaction that I had with each of the companies that really made the difference as some were clearly looking at the task with dollar signs in mind while others, one in particular, took the time to make sure it was the solution that made the most sense and that would be done right.

Even with regard to our banking, the way that we are treated makes a huge difference. While the hours and locations are convenient, TD Bank has continued to offer one of the worst customer experiences that I have ever encountered with a financial institution. We have already switched our primary banking and now we will be transitioning our secondary banking in the near future as these other institutions are actually pleasant to deal with on a regular basis and haven’t hampered us with ridiculous charges.

Of course, there are the basic retail sales associates that I know by name that have made many transactions much more pleasant in recent years like Dave at Raymour & Flanigan, Frank at Coins & Currency of Wayne, my cousin when I need clothes, many employees at the local Lowe’s, the entire staff at Tanner’s Sports Center, and many other people at various local businesses. Additionally, the customer support teams at Amazon and Sportsman’s Guide have been excellent as of late. Great people that continue to make things just a little easier.

Mortgage Monday: Water, Garage Doors, And Security

Last week I spent some time working from home but, just like the days that I decide to “take off”, it was for the simple reason that there was work that needed to be done at the house. Actually, I wasn’t doing any of the work, I was there so that could answer any questions that may come about from the minor projects around the house. Namely, over the two days at the end of the week we had Martin complete an inspection of our filtration system, Shank install the garage doors, and ADT check a few of the sensors that we have had to adjust lately.

Surprisingly, all of these appointments went about as smooth as possible beginning with the garage doors on Thursday. The old doors were exactly that and with the one destroying itself a few months ago, it was something that needed to be done this summer. Now seeing the new doors in place, the features that Shank includes, and hearing how quiet the new motors are, we are really glad that we made room in the budget to get this done. Of course, it helps that the person installing them really knew what they were doing and had the full swap out (doors, motors, tracks, sensors, etc.) done faster than I was expecting.

Friday morning the door bell chimed at about a quarter to eight in the morning. While I am all for being on time or even early to appointments, it isn’t as pleasant when ADT has already screwed up the scheduling (I made the appointment for and confirmed it with customer service at the time for the 12-5 window). This on top of the fact that the technician expects our full attention as we are in the middle of our son’s morning routine. Just one of many issued that we have had with that company so far. After a few unexpected (and without warning) triggers of the alarm and a few moments of puzzled contemplation regarding the use of adhesive, the work was completed and the rest of the morning could begin.

Martin Water was the third and final appointment of the week and as they were the ones who maintained this system previously, it was a pretty straightforward process. And it was great that they took the time to go through the steps that I need to follow to properly maintain the system. I was shown once before when we bought the house exactly what needed to be done but I can’t say that a whole lot of information was retained that chaotic week.

So, it may not be a big dent in our overall plans for the week but we were able to at least get things started while making sure a couple of the other things in the house don’t become future projects. And while ADT may be lacking at times the important thing is that the security system and monitoring are still solid. As for Shank Doors and Martin Water, don’t hesitate for a second if you are in need of their services… their prices and the quality of their work is exceptional. That is all… for now.

Mortgage Monday: More Estimates

Whenever work needs to be done at the house that is beyond my limited capabilities, it is rarely a simple process to get that job done. Early last week I was finally able to set aside the time research some of the contractors and other service providers in the area. Home Advisor was actually a pretty useful tool for this in addition to work of mouth and local publications. We have had our project list pulled together for some time now and I did receive a couple of estimates for a few things that we need done but I am never one to settle for a single quote. So, with a break in the chaos of the week, I pulled together a list and got on the phone making dozens of calls and leaving a multitude of messages. With all the research done and calls placed, the rest of the week was filled with fielding responses to my queries.

The first set of calls that I placed was to some of the reputable tree service companies in the area. There are at least three trees that need to be taken down around the property and probably a few others that will need to come down in the near future. Heading into this initial investigation I knew that this is an expensive proposition as a couple of the trees are at least a hundred feet high and not in an easy location on the property. Additionally, at least one of them is so far gone that scaling in the trunk is not going to be a possibility. Of all the companies I called I was only able to get a hold of one of them who stopped by the house on Friday and delivered an unofficial estimate at a figure that I was in line with my thought process.

The next call was to a company to replace our garage doors. While one is still serviceable the other door is useless at this point and given the age of both it just makes sense to replace the pair (as well as the motors). Again, I already have a quote for this project but it is definitely one that I believe can be beat by, hopefully, a significant margin. This is one of the companies that I will have stopping by the house this week.

The last group of correspondences were to a few of the recommended general contracting firms and smaller craftsmen in the area. The one recommendation that I did receive to install some doors to my office was booked… and when I say booked I mean that he didn’t have an opening in his calendar until February 2017. A couple of the other companies I contact gave me a call later in the week and will be coming out to the house this week as well. It is definitely going to be busy around the house with all of these people coming and going but at least I will have a few sets of numbers to work with.

Extensive Meetings, Marathon Calls, And Early Mornings

It may be a bit crude but it fits and its funny.

In hind sight, the past few weeks have been a bit of a blur merging together into one continuous memory of a meeting. In addition to the usual daily duties and account work, a few of us would lock ourselves in the conference room and hash out, sometimes vigorously, a public relations plan for a new prospect. This was all stemming from my business day trip back in May.

For hours we would go back and forth starting with the high level view and basic outline. We would take a couple of days off to research and make our own suggestions (margin time as I like to call it) and finally we would come together for the detailed dive into what needs to be said, what needs to be reworded, and pull together what strategies would work best to achieve what the prospect thinks they want and what we know they should want. Fortunately, in this instance, there was a synchronicity to these objectives.

All told, we each spend approximately fifty hours in meeting over the past couple of months pulling all of these things together. This culminated in a conference call yesterday when we were finally able to present the results of our hard work. This is always a time of uncertainty but we present the plan with confidence and emphasize the process and experience that has brought us to our conclusions. However, you have to keep in mind, while this was a time consuming step it was only the first of many (second if you count the initial input).

While the prospect agreed with what we had presented, there were still a number of things discussed that we will have to incorporate and a few things that we will have to change. And, of course, every presentation has a speed bump here or there and this one certainly had a big one as the recent investors in the company have just now informed us of an open competition and that many other proposals have been received. With the only honest and realistic plan on the table I am confident in our future with this company but it still means that there is even more work that we are going to have to complete and more meetings that will keep us in the conference room for the next couple of weeks.

It looks like a few more long days at the office presenting me from arriving home before the summer dusk and probably at least one or two early morning conference calls like the one that was scheduled this morning for 7am. While I am undoubtedly biased, I know that we are the best firm for the business and I know that the long discussions and even longer hours will pay off in the end. But, for now, it is time to relax when I can, work when I am able, and sleep during those rare instances when the luxury of time is in my favor.

Time To Start Cooking Again

For some time, my wife and I had gotten away from cooking but we are starting to slowly get back into it. While there have been the quick meals thrown together on a number of nights I would really call it cooking. For many, they would consider what I do multiple times a week as making dinner, some would call it cooking, I just think of it as getting things done as quickly as possible while still making it taste pretty good.

I have always been a person who would throw things together without really following a recipe (the only exceptions being when I would be backing something). Directions just slow me down and I am a firm believer that as long as you know what flavors go together and the rough proportions needed to create flavors there is no need to go step by step. Everyone has their own method of doing this and, over time, you understand approximately how much your “pinch of salt” really is and what a “single” scoop is using a regular spoon.

I guess it is just something that I have picked up over the years watching my mom put things together when she got home from work. I have tried to show my wife this method and she has watched me many times but it is not something that is picked up quickly. However, my wife, regardless of what she says, knows what she is doing in the kitchen. It is a completely different way of doing things but it works for her.

The fact that we have completely different ways of going about things in the kitchen is a great situation. While many nights I can quickly throw something together, sometimes that can leave a limited selection of options given the usual time constraints. My wife, on the other hand, is rather methodical in her approach which while it takes her a little longer to make something it gives her greater flexibility in what she can make. Essentially, she has much more patience when it comes to cooking.

Now, everything that I have just written is something that you have heard me say before but I thought it was worth repeating. So, as we return to really cooking in the kitchen and making dinner on a more regular basis, I hope to record some of the successes, and some of the less successful, dishes that we make in the coming months. Maybe this would also help with my first resolution but we will have to see. Are there any dishes/meal, especially healthy ones, that you enjoy and that you would like to see us, read about our, attempt? Let me know in the comments below.