How to Choose an Office Supply Vendor - Customer Service
by Diana L. Martin
Everyone has had bad customer service experiences - some worse than others. I know I've had many, many more than I care to remember. Customer service is a fundamental part of any business and should be one of your top priorities when selecting an office products vendor - or, for that matter, any other supplier.
Usually, people start with price when evaluating suppliers, and we’ll get to that in a future blog, but customer service before, during, and after the sale is extremely important. Can you call and speak with a live person or are you limited only to email or chat? Does the supplier hide their phone number on their website? Is their phone tree endless? Do they have knowledgeable representatives with industry experience who can answer your questions or are they outsourced (usually overseas) and reading off a script? Do they even offer customer service?
Some of the larger office supply dealers will give you tips on how to save time and money buying office supplies. They’ll tout their product assortment and reports they can provide to help track your spending. They’ll suggest that you evaluate cost, lead times, payment terms and that you consolidate your purchases by buying from a single source (all valid suggestions) but the one thing their article is missing is CUSTOMER SERVICE. They won’t even mention that once. Why? Because they know they can’t compete in that area. It’s been my experience that the bigger the company, the worse the customer service.
Another consideration is whether the supplier is willing to accommodate special requests. At Office Express, we have an unofficial slogan - "The answer is always yes." I think it should be "Our choice is Yes!" because that's what it really is - it's our choice. Just as it is the choice of any company to say yes or no to a customer request.
I spent 12 years working in retail for two nationwide chains as a Customer Service Supervisor and, later, as a Customer Service Manager. The first company was a clothing chain and the District Manager made regular trips to all the stores in his region. He was very clear on what he expected - he told the Store Manager that he didn't want ANY customer complaints making it to his desk. Everything was to be handled at the store level and the customer was to be taken care of. Managers could do whatever it took and break whatever policy necessary to satisfy the customer.
I had a very poor customer service experience at a drug store chain some years ago. I purchased an item that was on sale - advertised in their sale flyer in the paper and a shelf tag clearly displayed the sale price in the store. It rang up at full price and I didn't notice until I got into my car and looked at the receipt. I immediately went back into the store (no more than 2 minutes later), pointed out the error and requested the $4.49 refund for the overcharge. To make a long story short, the clerk called the manager and the manager refused to give me the cash. It was clearly their error - the register was not programmed properly for the sale - but he refused to refund my money. I could have invoked the Michigan Item Pricing law, but instead, I told him that since he was unwilling to refund the overcharge, I wanted a refund on everything that I had purchased and I would never shop there again. So instead of giving me $4.49 back, he gave me $53 back. And lost a customer for life. And I have told my story to many of my friends and relatives and encouraged them not to shop there. That was his choice - and I think it was a very poor one.
At Office Express, our choice is "Yes!" It is our choice to do whatever it takes to make sure that your experience with us is the best that it can possibly be. It is our choice to make sure that you are happy, that your needs are met and that you are COMPLETELY satisfied with your transactions with us. We have highly trained staff who can answer your questions and help you with whatever you need. Price is important, but it isn't everything. Make sure you get the attention, answers and service you deserve.
