focused blog

The $15k phone call!

9/23/2015

Duct work since 1968!

If you don't think every phone call that comes to your business is important then
this post is a must read!
A couple of weeks ago our AC in our house went out. Needless to say our weather in New Orleans that week was 100° in the shade. Elizabeth and I have been in our house for 16 years and I have to say our complete air system has never been 100% new. Our duct work in the attic was as old as the house in some areas. Our house was built in the late 60s so you can imagine the degrade.
We have been using Bryan's United for as long as I can remember, so we gave them a phone call to come assess our situation. The amount of work that truly needed to get us up and running and as efficient as possible, was immense! The sales person that came to our house just happened to be the owners son. He was extremely professional and thorough in how he showed us what needed to get done. We truly needed the entire system changed over to a high efficiency system which would last us a very long time. He gave us several options that we could do starting from $3000 up to $25,000 and of course Elizabeth and I were in sticker shock. In order to get us where we truly need to be we were looking at the $15,000 package. He also had three years same as cash financing available which could really help us at this time. It made total sense to get the entire house on the same level of efficiency, so we just had to figure out a way to bite the bullet and move forward. Our oldest just started high school and our youngest just started kindergarten, so our life is a little upside down right now. These are the most expensive years of our life and man don't we know it!

Elizabeth and I agreed to get a second opinion, so we called a local business for a second opinion.
This is where the story gets good.
I called on a Friday to schedule an appointment for Monday and the gentleman on the phone said he would call me around 9 AM and let me know when his people can come to our residence. That weekend we had to sleep at Elizabeth's mom and dads house due to the fact that our house was unbearable. We went back and forth on which package should we go with, but in the end it made no sense whatsoever to go the cheap route since it would be a bandaid for the situation. Well Monday comes around and I waited until 9:30 AM to give this company a call. A lady answered the phone this time and even though she sounded sweet as can be she was very lost about my conversation on Friday with the other gentleman. She put me on hold three different times to find my name and location, the person that took the appointment and to also figure out if anybody could come at all to our house that day. This puts a major doubt in my mind every time she put me on hold because as a business owner I was not impressed! I am all about supporting local business and will always give local businesses a chance, but this situation truly didn't sit right with me.
I then proceeded to ask, "Well what kind of financing do you offer?" She said 6 to 12 months financing is what is usually offered. I asked if she could do three years financing and she then proceeded to put me on hold again and see if their finance company could do three years. I abruptly stopped her and canceled my appointment. I thought to myself, "Wow is this going to be every phone call I make here?"

After I hung up the phone I then called my sales rep with Bryan's United and he came out that same day within hours. Elizabeth and I have been operating our business for 20 years at the professional level people deserve. Now that I am the client I totally understand the phrase, "You get what you pay for."
When ever I do business with other businesses, I expect the same level of professionalism that Elizabeth and I give our clients. We work extremely hard for every dollar we make therefore spending it is just as important to us. Our final decision wound up being the correct one. Man have I been impressed with the level of service I have received from Bryan's United! Every employee that came into the house to work on our unit introduced themselves and gave me a business card. I truly believe every step that you do in your business should be as professional as possible.

To think that one phone call was worth $15,000? If you are reading this post and you own a business or thinking about starting a business, remember every single phone call is worth your best. Now I can see why my clients are so happy to invest with us. The level of customer service Elizabeth and I deliver far exceeds our local competitors. No business is perfect but always striving to be is our passion!