Awesomeness is Unspoken

February 7, 2010

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I’ve spent the last few days at a business conference filled with over a hundred other people in the same business I am. I’ve been to many of these, and I’ve noticed that, after the first day, I find myself being more…selective…when I am choosing the table to sit at during meals. I know that, depending on where I sit, the chit-chat will either be 1) enlightening and thought-provoking, or 2) awkward and uncomfortable.

I started thinking about it and wondering: why are there some people who I’m drawn to more than others? What I came up with is, I am instantly turned off the minute someone starts telling me about how great they are. I…I…I, me…me…me, blah..blah…blah. The truly awesome people are the ones who engage you in a conversation, listen to what you have to say, and share their experiences or thoughts in a way that isn’t condescending.

I met a lot of awesome people over the 3 days of the conference.  If you are not buying the products for your office from a local, independent office supply dealer, you’re really missing out.  The people I met were friendly, interesting, and truly committed to their business.  Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to pretend you were busy every time your office supply sales rep called or stopped by?  Wouldn’t it be great if you actually looked forward to talking to them?  Wouldn’t it be great if you gave them a hearty handshake or hug when you saw them, because they were just that awesome?

What are your thoughts? What makes you think someone is awesome?

(See what I did there? I opened up the dialog and am giving you a turn to speak. Isn’t that awesome! [insert sarcmark here] )

Dear Customer:

August 24, 2009

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2009 School Kit DistributionLast week was a very long week.  It was the week that we spend all year planning for:  School Supply Kit Delivery and Distribution Week.  Although we’ve been doing this for 9 years and have it down to a science, in my mind, it’s still chaotic and stressful.  I have this thing that I need to make sure that everyone is completely satisfied with our service and product (I know, it’s weird, but I happen to care about our customer’s experience *sarcasm*).

Every year, there is always at least one poor parent who comes in to pick up their child’s school supply kit and there isn’t one there for them.  The whole summer, they thought they were all set for the first day of school.  Now, I have to be the one to tell them that we did not receive an order from them.  I give them my business card and tell them to go back to their checkbook and look for a payment made to the school’s parent organization that cleared the bank back in the spring.  So, they go home, look in their checkbook, and call me back.  This is usually how the conversation goes: “I could have sworn I ordered a kit but I can’t find a check.  Is there any way I can still order a kit from you?”.  Again, I have to be the bearer of bad news.  Because we order our inventory based on the pre-orders we receive in the spring, our inventory is very tight and by the time we fill all of the pre-orders, many of the items that go into the kits are out-of-stock.  So….as much as I try to help them out, most of the time I have to tell them our situation and that we can’t help them.  I feel horrible.  It’s less than a week before school starts; the parent thought they had everything taken care of, and now they have to go out and try to find the supplies they need at the stores which are already picked over.  This is the reason I started this business – to avoid this exact situation.

I must say, I am so blessed to have awesome customers.  Even though I have sent them out into the madness of last-minute school supply shopping, they are still gracious and kind.  Most of them thank me for trying to help them and tell me that they will look for our order forms to come home next year.  And that’s just the handful of parents who didn’t buy our kits.  I had so many parents tell me that they don’t know what they would do without our service.  They love our school supply kits and they tell their friends about them and encourage them to buy them.  I can’t tell you how much it means to me to hear comments like that.

When I started this business back in 2000, I had a daughter in 1st grade and a 5-month old son.  The last thing I wanted to do was load up the kids in the van and go fight the crowds at the ‘big box’ stores.  My daughter’s school didn’t offer the option of pre-purchasing school supplies for the following school year like they had done the year before because they had some unresolved issues with the company that they had used.  So, instead of doing what most people would do and hit the stores, I hit the phones.  I started calling companies like Crayola®, and Elmer’s®, to find out what I needed to do to get an account with them and start buying in bulk.  I decided that I would offer the same type of product but make sure that I provided a great customer experience to go along with it.  I hope that I have done that.

Now that all of the deliveries have been made, I begin to look forward to next year (yes, already.).  I had some great suggestions from parents on how to improve on our service and that is what I plan to do.  I have many ideas swirling around in my head – now I just need figure out the best way to make them happen.  The top priority for next year, is to find a way to accommodate parents, who, at the last minute, would rather purchase a school supply kit than run around to 10 different stores to get their supply shopping done.

If you have used our service in the past and have any suggestions for us, please share them.  We appreciate feedback.  It’s the only way we know if we’re doing the best job we can to provide a great service for our customers.  And, because you have a direct line to the owner of the company – your comments will be heard!

Thanks to everyone (teachers, principals, parents, students, janitors…) for another great Back-to-School season.  You guys are the best and we are truly grateful to have the best customers a company could ever ask for.  We know that, without you, there would be no us.

Now go and have a fantastic school year!

‘Customer Service’ (in-other-words ‘Serving the Customer’) Is That So Difficult?

May 18, 2009

First Class School & Office Supplies General Posts , Leave a comment

According to Turban et al. (2002)[1], “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expeMPj04331800000[1]ctation.”

After another less-than-satisfying experience with a large corporation’s customer service department today, coupled with the fact that I haven’t posted anything on the blog in a couple of weeks, I thought I would share a little rant…

I do not understand the concept of reeling in customers and leaving them to fend for themselves once you’ve got them hooked.  To me, the whole point of being in business is to “serve your customers”.  Really, aren’t they the reason you HAVE a business?

The way I look at it, I’m working for THEM; THEY are my boss.  If my customers don’t like something about their experience with my business, I need to pay attention to that, immediately.  I need to do whatever I can to make sure that the boss is happy, otherwise, I might lose my job, my business.  Why is that?  It’s because I am a local, independent business.  I’m not in the S&P 500.  I don’t have a board of directors, tens of thousands of employees, lobbyists, corporate jets….and lots of money.  It’s just me, my suppliers, my laptop, and my crappy internet connection (hint to today’s unsatisfying customer service experience), trying to provide a service to other businesses, no matter what size they are or how much they purchase.

I don’t understand why so many major corporations just get a pass when it comes to serving their customers; or, for that matter, generally running their businesses poorly.  It seems to me that there is an accountability issue here.  If this is what happens when a company grows and becomes a major corporation, I don’t want any part of it.  I’m happy in my own little corner of the world where my customers can call, and talk to the owner if they want to; where a customer’s voice is heard; where ‘customer service’ means ‘serving the customer’; and where there is no expectation that someone will bail me out if I screw up (that’s a whole different rant).

Okay, there it is, that’s my rant for today.  I guess what I’m hoping you take away from this is, although ‘the big boys’ might look good at first glance, there are plenty of ‘little guys’ out there who are just as good, and might even be better.  And, I’m not just talking about my industry.  I’m talking about everywhere: banks, grocery stores, internet service providers (another hint to today’s service issue), electronics stores……the list is endless.  (Oh, and by the way, this rant does not apply to those corporations who still actually ‘serve their customers’ and run their business responsibly.)

Note:  In the time it took me to write this post, I’ve received two messages from two separate vendors , in different parts of the country, saying that they are experiencing ‘issues’ with their phone service and are working to get it fixed – wonder if they’ll be posting a rant later today?

Hello world! First Class School & Office Supplies is Blogging!

March 7, 2009

First Class School & Office Supplies About Us , , Leave a comment

I’ve been going back and forth on whether to blog or not.  Do I really have anything to say that is so interesting that others want to read about it?  What can I possibly write about regarding teacher supplies, office supplies, or school supplies, that won’t be totally boring?  Then I thought, purchasing school and office supplies is such an impersonal experience for most people.  You walk into a big box office supply store, wander aimlessly looking for what you may or may not need, and really never learn anything about what you’re buying or who you’re buying from.  I want my customers to know that there are real people behind the company name.  We don’t claim to be perfect, but we do claim that we value the relationship that we have with our customers and will do everything that we can to make it a great one.  We understand that without our customers, we don’t exist.

Okay, with that said, my goal in the blog will be to communicate with you in a personal way, a way that you might not get from the typical school, teacher or office supply store.  If there are new products that we’re excited about, I’ll tell you about them.  I’ll let you know what we’re doing, what we’re hearing, and what we’re talking about.  In turn, we want you to tell us what you’re thinking…Are you looking for a specific product and can’t find it?  Have you tried a new product and have an opinion on it?  Have you found an item for your classroom that, now, you can’t live without?  Tell us about your experiences so we can share them.

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