Customer Service is Essential to Success

In an article in the August edition of National Floor Trends, the author presents some interesting and important tips for great customer service. Seems likely that most consumers will agree that they prefer businesses that have excellent customer service and would pay more to do business with those companies.

The results of an American Express study show that Americans will spend 9% more with companies that provide excellent customer service. Leading the author to pose these questions:

• How does your company rank in customer service?
  
• Does your store have the highest rating amongst consumers?
  
• Do you have a presence on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook?
  
• Are customers writing favorable reviews about you on Angie’s List, Yelp and blogs?
  
• Is your store known as the customer service leader?

And concluding that if this is not the case, it is time to re-evaluate your company's procedures and how you and every person in the company interacts with your customers.

He lists eight key items for top quality customer service and how to use or know if you are already using them.

1. Know your customer’s desires. Your customers will let you know what they want and how you can provide good service.



2. Be a good listener. Ask questions of your customer to determine their flooring needs. Listen to their words and tone of voice, watch their body language, and most importantly, find out how they feel. Don’t make assumptions or guess what the customer wants. After your conversation, can you list three things that are most important to your customer?



3. Make your customer feel important and appreciated. Always find ways to compliment them. The goal is to generate good feelings about doing business with you. Thank them every time you get a chance and be sure to convey sincerity. Customers don’t buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems.



4. Explain the purchase process. Take time to explain how your store works, including the sales, measuring, and installation steps.



5. Provide continuous solutions. Always look for ways to help your customers. When they have a request, show them you can do it. Make doing business with you easy. Always do what you say you are going to do.



6. Apologize when something goes awry. Deal with problems immediately and let customers know what you have done. Oftentimes if you work extremely hard to solve any problems that come up, your customers will be more likely to recommend you to their friends.



7. Give more than expected. Elevate yourself above the competition. What can you give customers that they cannot get elsewhere? Follow-up and thank people even when they don’t buy flooring from your store. Perhaps the buying situation changed and they will return soon.



8. Get feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve. Listen carefully to what they say and provide a method that invites constructive criticism, comments and suggestions. Check back with your customers regularly to see how things are going.

The way we do business is changing quickly with consumers doing more research online to find flooring products and choosing where to shop for them. A successful business must provide all of the information the customers need without ever interacting with the customer. The customer is now seeking out the business, not the business seeking customers. The customer is directing the sale and leading the interaction. And as businesses, we must meet them there, or we'll lose them to the ones that are.

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Hardwood Floors are Easier and More Beautiful than you Think

Hardwood floors bring an unparalleled richness that makes them seem a bit intimidating in regard to maintenance and decor. One of the arguments against hardwood flooring is usually that "they are so hard to maintain". However, hardwood flooring is exactly the opposite and may be the easiest flooring type to maintain. Sweeping is all you'll need to do. The main advantage to wood flooring is that there is a lot you can do to prevent problems. Mats and rugs and inexpensive furniture pads will prevent damage from regular use.

Unlike carpet, vinyl, tile and linoleum, hardwood flooring does not need to be replaced after only a few years. Refinishing, which used to be expensive, cumbersome and messy, is hardly "necessary" anymore. Old products that were used to maintain wood floors were not very "user-friendly" and refinishing may have immediately been recommended by your flooring professional then. However, with today's finishes, if a wood floor is properly maintained, it will outlast you, your mortgage and your house.

Not only is wood flooring easy to care for, but the natural beauty and long-term value it adds to your home make it the reason you'll want to incorporate it into your design and decor. The species and finish you choose can set the atmosphere for your whole room. Home Gurus shows how wood flooring fits into any style and decor. For a traditional style, oak is the most popular choice. Oak grains are classic and timeless and you'll have your choice of practically any stain color and finish. A modern look may include the smooth look of maple or the surprising pattern of an exotic wood like tigerwood. If rustic is your choice, hickory and cherry are great options. Walnut is a great choice for a worldly look.

Design is also important in decorating with hardwood flooring. Dark finishes on your wood flooring and light finishes on furniture (or vice versa) may appeal to you if you prefer contrasts. For a modern look, a high-gloss dark stained floor may fit your image. Rich colors like mahogany or honey seem to appeal to traditionalists. And country lovers will be drawn toward antiqued or hand-scraped hardwoods.

Last thing to consider in design and decor is the size of the flooring boards you'll use. Strip flooring is the most popular and is considered to be any board's width that is 3 inches or less. Strip flooring gives a traditional and modern look. Plank styles, any board width greater than 3 inches, or Wide Plank, any board width greater than 5 inches, will give your space a rustic feel. And Parquet flooring is easily recognized from is square pattern. Parquet floors were used in churches and palaces and give a formality and majesty to your design.

So when you hear: "Wood flooring - so hard to maintain, so expensive, and so hard to install", you'll know what to tell them now.

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The product description from the manufacturer is all you need to envision this flooring in your home.

"Sun glistens off mountain peaks where the snow is so cold and powdery it radiates an ice-blue glow. Ahead, the windows of the log resort beckon tired skiers with warmth and hospitality. This upscale lodge, with its warm handcrafted hickory floors, could be high in the French Alps, or as close as the Colorado Rockies. The beauty and tradition of hickory is a superior choice for even the most discriminating of tastes - character and charisma meets practicality with a charm uncompromised. A solvent-free, seven-coat, UV-cured coating makes the floor abrasion resistant, resilient, and easy to clean. Breckenridge Skip-Sawn Hickory brings the beauty of a classically superior lodge floor to your log home or retreat."



For more Harvest Timber products, check out our selection at GateWood Floors.

Description and images courtesy of Pioneered Wood.