Elite Customer Service Puts Arizona Contractor Company In A League Of Their Own
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You’d be hard pressed to find a company that says that customer service is not a priority. However for Magic Touch in Mesa, Arizona, customer service isn’t a just a priority, it is a way of doing business. The level of customer service given by the team at Magic Touch has not only helped make them an award winning company, it also makes them a top choice for customers in their market.
Customer Service Philosophy
When you talk to Magic Touch CEO, Rich Morgan, it’s like talking to someone you’ve always known. He’s friendly and warm, honest, and extremely knowledgeable about the industry and business. This is how he wants his employees to make their customers feel.
The honesty part is what really sets his company apart. When Morgan speaks of being honest with customers, he explains, “We tell the customer what they really need to achieve the level of comfort they expect and frankly deserve. That may mean that we recommend duct modifications, high efficiency or multi-stage equipment, insulation, etc., and it may be more expensive than what the customer was expecting to pay.”
He admits that this type of honesty has lost his company sales to companies that are just “changing the box,” but he would rather give customers all the information needed up front to make an informed decision, and set expectations for what they are receiving and can expect. Of course if a customer chooses not to take all of the recommendations, but they are well informed in making that decision, he feels good about knowing his company did the right thing.
“Giving great customer service and taking the whole home approach isn’t just something we want to give our customers, it’s something we have to give our customers, it’s our company culture, and it’s the right thing to do,” says Morgan. “When the economy was booming this culture and philosophy gave us an advantage. However, it makes it tougher when the economy slips and wallets are held a little tighter. But we are the professionals and the experts and consumers deserve to be well informed so they can choose what’s best for them, their home, and their families.”
The company doesn’t see this as a disadvantage though, because they prefer to offer the best customer experience possible. And one way they do that is by utilizing a repair vs. replacement score sheet to help the customer to make an educated decision.
“The value of this score sheet is, that it allows the customer to make their own decision, having all the facts in front of them,” adds Morgan. “The customer can see the condition of their equipment and systems laid out in a laymen’s terms. They can find comfort in knowing that the technician is being honest presenting them with all of their options, rather than just saying they should replace a unit, or make a repair based solely on their own opinion. It really helps show the type of company we are when another company comes along and says ‘I can fix it’ or ‘it has to be replaced.’ We feel the customer should be given the good, the bad, and the ugly and decide based on their own budget, lifestyle, and situation along with the facts, what’s best for them.”
“Recently I took three bids to replace a pool and landscaping in my own home. One company came back with the lowest bid and chose materials I specifically said I did not want. They also omitted things I specifically asked for and told me, ‘this kept the cost down.’ Another company threw everything under the sun in their quote that they wanted to sell me, without any options to choose or make changes. The last company spent a lot of time asking questions and giving advice, even telling me about things that just weren’t worth the extra money and the things that were worth the additional investment…and more importantly…why. Their quote was itemized line by line and made it easy for me to choose what was best for my needs and budget. Being a mechanical contractor I understand pumps, and filters, etc. but I don’t know the first thing about compacting earth, trees, and shrubs, etc. Having the ability to make an educated decision was key in my decisions…guess who got the job?”
If along the way a mistake happens, and let’s faces it they do, Morgan empowers his team to make the decision to do the right thing by the customer.
“Nobody in our company will be reprimanded or be in jeopardy of losing their job for making a mistake…they will be trained to make sure they don’t make the same mistake the next time,” says Morgan. “We empower everyone on our team to make decisions and actions keeping this in mind.I’m proud of the fact that I often find out after the fact when one of our team members finds something we “screwed the pooch on” and just makes it right. It’s that culture that has earned us the reputation we have and it’s that attitude that grows our business year after year.”
The Secret Is In The Sauce
One way that Magic Touch knows they are leading the way in customer service is by utilizing online customer review sites like Angie’s List and Kudzu.
The reason for this focus is simply explained by Morgan like this, “Have you ever booked a hotel room based on the pictures the hotel provided only to get there and find it looks nothing like the picture you saw? When I book a hotel room I read the reviews from people that have actually stayed there, the good and the bad and then make a decision based on the majority of the feedback.”
“Everyone turns to the Internet nowadays to do his or her research and they want to see what others experience has been,” he continues.” Any business can say they are #1, yada-yada-yada…we encourage our clients to publicly post their experience.”
This gives them the opportunity to get genuine customer feedback and to correct any issues that customers may not have been willing to tell the company directly. It also give them the opportunity to stand out as the best when they get things right.
They also use the good reviews as a “badge of honor” for the team. “We hang EVERY review, report, and questionnaire we receive in our training room on what we call our “Awesome-Sauce Wall,” adds Morgan. “Our team members are always checking it for the latest postings.”
Training to Be the Best
To work at this high level of customer service, training has to be a major part of the company and it requires getting a good mix to ensure that everything is covered.
“We continue to increase our budget for training each year,” says Morgan. “We also individualize it to each person, because we realize we have different levels. Some of it is voluntary and some of it is mandatory, but we get very little push back because we pay for it and our employees realize that this is an investment we are making in them and their future.”
And due to the strong held training values, Magic Touch sees very low turnover in employees and that leads to a better customer service experience.
Won’t Rest On Their Laurels
Magic Touch still sees a lot of areas for growth and is not ready to sit back and ride out their success.
They recently added more training space to their business, so they can bring in more training equipment. They are also looking into new areas of growth for their business.
With all the growth, Morgan says they will stick to their values and continue to do what is right by the customers, because that is what will ultimately lead to their continued success.
“If you follow the ‘three parties involved’ rule; the client, the employee, and the company in every situation,” says Morgan, “You will never come out on the wrong side. Every decision no matter what the situation should be fair to all three parties involved. If the decision is not fair to any one of the three parties involved…keep going until you find the decision that is.”
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Posted In: Customer Service, Management, Residential Buildings
