Whether it’s an Audit or Audi, Service is Service

A few columns ago, I either regaled or bored you with my travails of car shopping and all the hair-pulling peripheral decisions that go along with it.

Well, after debating longer than the budget battle in Washington, we finally made a decision and opted for a vehicle minted in Germany (hint: it’s not Mercedes or BMW). In fact, we picked it up last evening and drove it home with the care of guiding a toddler as they learn to walk – uncertain of when the first parking lot door dent or flying road debris will tarnish the now-unblemished exterior, only knowing that it eventually will.

But what swayed us to this particular brand was the quality service we received from Rich, the sales rep and the dealership. (That and it had far more rear-seat legroom than the others we looked at in a comparable price range). He phoned us regularly (but not to the point of harassment), allowed us to test-drive it three times before reaching a decision and when I joked that if he threw in some all-weather floor mats I would answer the inevitable customer service survey nicely, they were installed when we arrived.

He even called the next day to ensure we were happy with everything.

Now, it’s been nearly a decade since I’ve been in the market for a car, so maybe this is the new approach the dealerships take nowadays. It wasn’t so long ago that car salesmen were viewed in the same light as three-card Monte dealers or predatory securities brokers in some sleazy boiler room firm.

But like most things, it got me to thinking.

Quality service is, well, quality service, whether you’re marketing cars, waiting tables or running a CPA firm. There are basic tenets that transcend any profession or industry. Is the strategy behind servicing a brand new client and striving for long-term retention, really that different from ensuring a customer is happy with their car and not just immediately after the papers are signed, but throughout the life of ownership?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.

Many of you have worked hard to establish long-term clients and obviously work equally hard to retain those relationships. You may not hand-hold them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but they know that when a problem arises, you’re just a phone call or an office visit away. And that whatever it is, will be rectified to their satisfaction.

As you prepare to enter what is for many their busiest time of year and the period when many of you see the majority of your clients in person, it may be time to reflect on why they’re your clients in the first place, why they remain with you and what you need going forward to keep them (and your revenues) coming in.

The all-weather floor mats are, of course, optional.