The Spook

1. We will not lie to our customers.
2. We will not treat smaller salons like a second-class (even if they are one).
3. We will not ignore calls for help.
4. We will not play pricing games.
5. We will maintain a modicum of quality control, and if we mess up, we will attempt to fix our process(es) so that it doesn't happen in the future.
6. We need our customers as much as they need us, not less than. We view our relationship as a partnership.
7. We will strive to make placing orders as hassle-free as possible.

Ok, I know this is utopian and I fully admit I'm whining. I do not have a sense of superiority or entitlement, I'm just a strong believer in customer service. It's just been an annoying week of shopping around. -,-

(this is not directed at one specific distributor, just in general)

Brian Oshman

Well if you are shopping around then you must not be commited to a distributor so why should they be commited to you?

Loyalty is a two way street.

The Spook

Very true, but if you're looking for loyalty, quality is a good way to retain it. There is a reason I was shopping around.

It just seems like most just don't care and think "take it or leave it". That's their right, of course, and I understand that I don't do the volume that their more coveted customers do. That seems like an opportunity for a disty to cater to, though, where nobody else will. It worked for Wal-Mart.

If I gave my customers the impression that they had to *earn* good service from me, they would say, "Ok, f**k you, I'll go to the place down the street."

SteveO

My local distributor takes good care of me except: When I order 3 bottles it gets keyed in as 5 bottles and sometimes I order 5 and it is not even on the order. They don't proofread the order at order entry. The order is always packed correctly (same as invoice) though.

The Spook

For me, I usually get the order keyed right, and it's correct on the packing slip, but the order is picked wrong at the warehouse.