When I contact a company about a service, I want to be able to speak to someone who actually knows what is going on and speak to them right away. Consistently when I call potential service providers lately, I get someone who doesn’t seem to know much about their own services or processes. They want to take down my number and then have someone call back when it is convenient for them. This is awful customer service in my opinion. Did my message actually get taken down properly and handed to the right person? How long am I going to have to wait for a response? Is this too much to ask for?

In my opinion, quality customer service is what makes the difference for who I choose as a service provider. So it makes sense that AshWebStudio does what I would expect – let people talk to someone who knows what is going on. When you call us, I (Derek) will 99% of the time be the one who answers the phone. If I don’t answer, it’s because I am on the other line or in the middle of another client’s design and don’t want to break my concentration or thought process (the same thing I will do with your design should you choose to work with us). When you call, I’ll be calling you back within a reasonable time frame. What is reasonable? I aim for immediately and at least the same day. If anyone has to wait more than 24 hours for a return call back, then something tragic has likely happened because I feel anything over 24 hours is unreasonable for a call back.

The one thing I have run into repeatedly recently is a prompt which asks me to choose from 5 different people. If I’ve never called in to the company before I have no idea who these people are and which one is the right person to talk to about my questions. Why isn’t there a starting point for communication? It makes absolutely no sense to me and I bet these companies are losing tons of potential business as a result.

In tough times like today’s economy, customer service is what will help separate your business from others. Want to make more sales? You don’t have to be the cheapest. Have excellent customer service and you’ll get people banging down your door. That’s what we shoot for here at AshWebStudio at least.

I want to talk to someone, now.