Growth with Grumpy Customers

Posted on January 26, 2010

Are less-than-pleased customers stunting your company’s growth? If comfort complaints are tripping you up, the solution is unlikely to come from turning your attention to the grumpy customers.

Rather, it might be time to look internally at your staff roster and processes for handling comfort complaints, says Keith Walker of Conditioned Air. He contends that lifetime customer loyalty starts with a structured sales program focused, first and foremost, on the employees. “Keeping your employees happy and developing a structured sales program are … vital and necessary if you want to turn those comfort complaints into profits,” he says.

Walker will present his expertise in properly handling customer comfort complaints at ACCA’s Annual Conference in Tampa. His session, “How to Turn ‘Comfort Complaints’ into Profits,” will highlight how dealing with issues in an effective and efficient manner is the key to creating a unique experience for the customer.

In many cases, this turn-over from “complaint” to “profit” falls into employees’ laps, making it essential for contractors to arm their staffs with the knowledge and the incentive to strive for the future profits that come from lifetime customer loyalty, Walker says. “Every HVAC company needs to be able to turn complaints into profits in order to stay in business during tough times,” he says. “I’ll give all attendees tips and tricks for doing so—and many start with their employees.”

Walker will offer real-world examples and learned-the-hard-way advice about these difficult situations, and how his company has come to look at customer comfort complaints as an opportunity rather than a burden.

Walker’s presentation is one of dozens planned for March 7-9 in Tampa at ACCA’s 42nd Annual Conference and Indoor Air Expo. The powerful workshop line-up is designed to address contractors’ biggest challenges for 2010, calling on leading industry experts to share their experiences and solutions with attendees.