The Lost Art of Customer Care or the “Post-Sale Amnesia”

Behind every successful business there is a very, very good and passionate entrepreneur, a great staff that really knows their business and, of course, the best customer service there is. Although custom care in the USA it’s at its peak, shall we say, there are many big companies who really need to shake it off and really improve their customer care services, mostly the post-sale ones. We at Van der Stahl Scientific call it the “post-sale amnesia”, you can call it whatever you want to called, but it is spreading like wildfire and it comes with its huge costs. The way you manage your clients and potential clients is crucial for how your business will role in the next months and years. One thing is for sure: a pleased client is your best business advertisement because good news spreads fast, while an unsatisfied client may even force you out of business. Our point is not to demonstrate it to you (you can find tones of examples online) but to speak about the lost art of customer care and how to diagnose, prevent and cure it as fast as possible.

First and foremost, how would you describe the customer service in your company? How do you keep a good relation with potential clients, how do you keep in touch, how prompt and how efficient your call center/person is? We don’t wish to brag, but at Van der Stahl every employee carries a cell phone so that even if away from our desk we answer the phone. In case do miss a call then we always promptly return the call and get in touch. This is how it works in our company and this is how we made it possible to be market leaders, pioneers and still stay strong with this fierce competition around.

I know, we’re living in an economic depression period, we sometimes feel depressed ourselves and at times things are going so badly that the last thing you need is someone to call you and ask about one of your product or service. Am I right? Well, instead of focusing on the things you don’t like (on your depression) how about answering the phone and making another client happy? How about that? Today it is so hard to get to talk with anyone anymore and solve any type of mystery, especially if we’re talking about big companies. And it’s these companies that have such trained and prepared call center staff that you’ll get to be passes around from one department to another. Perhaps they do this to on purpose to show you how many employees they have (aka. how much money they make off you) … and how little they can help. Trust me, there’s little to no chance in talking with the CEO, no matter how crucial the matter is.

This plague that we’ve named “post-sale amnesia” is sweeping the industry so fast, faster than any new virus or any buzz on Kim Kardashian’s behind. After you’ve made a considerable purchase, a lot of these companies consider you their ex and they won’t bother talk to you anymore. It’s even worse than being dumped from a relationship, it’s like being ripped off and then dumped. This is how bad it is. Van der Stahl Scientific has built a reputation from our customer centered programs, this is how much we fight the plague and value our former, actual and potential future customers. What is our secret? Well, with all the technology and novelty around, we’ve figured the old traditional methods to keep in touch work the best. Which are they? Well, take answering the phone, for example. Better than e-mail, newsletter, social media, you name it. Rather than letting our customers get lost in voicemail cul-de-sacs we know that an unhappy customer is not a customer anymore. Either way, the chances are slim. So, we still use the old and good method of answering the phone and helping our customers out. In fact Van der Stahl employees are all issued company-provided cell phones and if they’re away from their desk, the work phone simultaneously rings on their cell phone. The point is when you call… we answer, pretty much no big deal.

Beyond any current research on customer care, new means of keeping in touch and revolutionary methodology of keeping your clients happy we have considered to stay with the basic. And this is how we do it for about 20 years of providing in the sterile medical device packaging. Perhaps this is why so many companies have come back again and again to purchase products from Van der Stahl Scientific. It is indeed a unique mix, world-class technological prowess, delivered with the warmth of a country store. This is how we fight with all our means and capability against the “post-sale amnesia” and stay strong on the market.

Leaving irony and jokes aside, today, there’s no other way to make it without a very, very good customer care service. It doesn’t really matter what you do, who you are and what you believe in if you don’t believe in the art of caring for your customers and doing everything in your power to keep them pleased and happy. How do you fight against “post-sale amnesia” and how do you keep alive this ancient art of customer care? This is how we do it at Van der Stahl Scientific.