Whether it’s for web design or anything else in everyday life, I’m quite surprised to see how low the standards of many customers are. Indeed, when you pay for a good or a service, it would seem normal to expect a quality product or service in return, wouldn’t it? And yet, I often find that many people seem to settle for very little. If you want to be truly satisfied, rather than passively endure what others impose on you, don’t hesitate to ask for more!
At the professional level, demand impeccable quality
I often find myself dealing with customers who have just built their site themselves or with the help of a less-than-serious service provider, and who are not at all happy. They call on our web agency to rectify the situation, have run out of budget and are convinced that what we offer is better, when in fact we offer services that should be the norm. Yes, we’re detail-oriented, and when the customer isn’t perfectly satisfied with the result, we correct, improve, rectify. We’re not perfect, and we may forget a bug from time to time, or that a feature isn’t perfect, but our customers know that our services/products are very good value for money. Going back to those unhappy customers we meet regularly, they all say that if they’d met us before, they’d have saved time and money and been happy with the result. Personally, I can only rejoice at their satisfaction with the services we provide, but at the same time I can’t help wondering about the high standards they set with their previous service provider. Why commit to a service provider whose specifications don’t hold up? What prior research could they have done to retain the services of amateurs or self-proclaimed “professionals”? Without wanting to encourage people to ask for the moon, you shouldn’t hesitate to let your suppliers or service providers know that you’ll be going to the competition if they don’t give you complete satisfaction.
In everyday life too, as a customer, ask for the maximum.
I was at the hairdresser’s recently and the alarm was out of order; it started ringing by itself, every 5 minutes, and we had to call the operator to report this malfunction. The owner called the operator and kindly asked for help. She was told that nothing could be done and that she would be called back shortly. She didn’t react any more than that, just hung up and went back to work. Personally, as a customer who has paid for a service, I find it mind-boggling that someone who runs a company and therefore has a priori a notion of customer satisfaction, investment and profitability should be so passive in the face of what is ultimately a simple supplier problem. She probably wouldn’t have reacted the way she did if her shampoo supplier had acted the way she did, yet the effect of this inconvenience on her customers can’t have been zero. It seems to me that when it comes to technology, people lose their cool, but for a problem like this, it doesn’t seem excessive to ask how we can put an end to it as quickly as possible. If such an incident were to occur in a school or other establishment open to the public, in most cases access to the premises would simply be prohibited until the problem had been resolved. It therefore seems urgent to change our frame of reference and become aware of the negative aspects that such a situation can generate in the long term in terms of brand image, rather than inflicting this type of inconvenience on a clientele that is not a priori captive and may not want to return to your premises. As a customer, it’s also up to you to let people know what’s important to you in terms of service.
On the web, quality is the only way to stand out from the competition
I recently spoke to you about web services offering tempting rates, and here too you shouldn’t be afraid to demand quality. If you’re a service provider, it’s up to you to make sure you offer only the best to your customers, and if you’re a customer, let them know you want consistent results… Without forgetting that a job well done comes at a price. If you turn to a low-cost hosting company, don’t be surprised if your site is too slow to work properly, but if you pay a reasonable price, let your provider know that you’ll go elsewhere if he doesn’t give you satisfaction. If you opt for a Prestashop site cobbled together quickly and inexpensively by an amateur, don’t be surprised if some modules don’t work properly. On the other hand, if you put in the money, expect your service provider to provide concrete, rapid solutions to ensure that your site is functional and meets user expectations. In short, just because you don’t have the necessary technical skills yourself doesn’t mean you should just accept the conditions imposed on you. Be proactive, and find out about other potential service providers who are up to the task. At the end of the day, it’s a win-win situation for customers and suppliers alike, who will have to question themselves. So if you’re not doing it for yourself, do it for the collective improvement of the system!
