Another Bad Apple

Guest Blogger - Steve Puckett, Prepress Manager

One thing that is very important in a business relationship is customer service and this should continue long after the sale. I recently had a disappointing experience concerning my relationship with my vendor after the sale.

I have a vendor that, years ago, sold me a product and services for that product. That vendor went through a corporate restructuring and my contact was let go. Since then I have had no one contact me from that organization. On the flip side there is another player in the game that has been very aggressive to gain my business. Prices and quality of service aside, one thing that made me lean toward the up and comer is their aggressiveness. I feel they want my business and are going to earn it. They are a local company, family owned like the Flottman company and hungry for the business. It’s not impossible for a large national company to compete with a smaller local company. It would seem that size is on their side but somehow along the way they have lost their personal touch.

We publish a value statement that reads “We believe in growth through relationships with customers, employees and vendors.” We want to grow and we want to see our customers succeed.

I believe the Flottman company prides itself on the continuing relationships we have with our customers and vendors. Another part of our value statement reads, “We are a business family” and “Our customers and employees are part of that family”. We all need to evaluate our customer service and make sure that we are earning our customers business through the years and not just resting on our laurels.