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It’s all about the Customer

construction companies
customer service
construction management

There is nothing new about customer service.  The concept has been with us for decades but familiarity breeds contempt and today we run the risk of pushing customer service aside in favour of more sexy marketing speak.  But to regard customer service as passé is at our own peril, especially so within the construction sector.

Sit tight for a quick revision of how core customer service principles relate to construction companies.

Professionalism


In an industry with a reputation that has, historically, been less than professional, this must be top priority.  Professionalism covers attitudes, behaviour and appearance.  It means being diligent and conscientious, courteous and respectful, smartly turned out and on time!  But professionalism runs deeper to include ethics and values.  

Often part of induction and training programmes, business ethics relates to how your company and employees deal with customers, business partners and each other.  Commercial realities can put us in awkward situations where the choice is between making money or safeguarding our company’s reputation.  For example, you are bidding for a big contract which involves other parties.  You have serious doubts about the reliability of the supply chain in one particular area but if you voice those doubts you risk losing the bid.  Do you go ahead knowing the project has a high probability of failure, or do you alert your potential customer?  Ethical behaviour can mean difficult decisions but remember this: the bid you win today is not so important as to risk jeopardising your business reputation tomorrow.

Performance


At times work isn’t about what you do but where you stop!  Good customer service means going the extra mile.  Customers remember the ‘extra’ things: the time you spent with them late Friday evening, the documents you couriered to the architect’s office, the emergency fix over the bank holiday weekend.  Doing the job well simply isn’t enough any more.  Marketing people continually talk about separation – separating yourself from your competitors or making your company stand out from the crowd.  You can do this by the way you promote your business but it will never be truly successful unless you raise the level of your game to the exceptional, going that additional mile and striving to be the best at what you do.

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