Confirmation

Isn't it just great to receive confirmation of your business concept and business aim twice in one day? Like a stamp of approval?

Yesterday morning I read in one of the International Trade magazines that most floor installers consider installing the floor the 'end-of-the-line' with a customer and forget about 'after-sales' opportunities because a wooden floor is there for life:

"However, this is only true if the wooden floor is properly maintained and protected. In general there are two aspects to be considered regarding the maintenance of wooden flooring: products and labour."

And how easy is it to educate your customer in the need to keep his/her investment healthy, clean and beautiful with proper maintenance? Simple in our opinion: we tell them at the moment the floor is installed, we tell them four weeks after the floor is installed and every 6 months after that. Since the customer has entrusted us with the supply and installation of the wooden floor, they will trust us (and our maintenance products and maintenance service) with the after care.

This is a business concept we have implemented 3 years ago, our customers come back to us time after time for the maintenance products (or ask us to carry out the maintenance for them - talk about the benefit of easy maintenance) and because we keep reminding them every 6 months we keep 'branding' us as a caring company, 'worthwhile' to send your friends, neighbours to for their own floor.

That was one, stamp number two was a phone call that started with:

"Someone told me you are the National Hot-line for wooden flooring problems?" and went on explaining how he received two different quotes with opposite advise on how to 'restore' his existing floor boards (one said: yes possible, the other said: absolutely impossible). Could I please set his mind at rest: who was right?
I could, after asking for more details of the 'problem', and then had to disappoint him be telling him we couldn't carry out the work ourselves (400 mile north of where we operate).

Don't think we have to re-vamp our customer service ;-)