Online vs. Offline Furniture Companies - Can Any of Them Provide Great Customer Service

Providing great customer service would seem to be a good thing for all businesses, yet most furniture companies can not seem to get it right. They may think that they do, primarily because they are "keeping up with the status quo" for their respective competition.

What most furniture companies do not realize, particularly in the online furniture business, is that the status quo is woefully short of acceptable.

While being average is really a sad way to look at things, it is popular in many customer service circles. The reason for this is simple, really--customer service costs a company money on the front end.

While there may be a huge payoff long term to great customer service, most furniture companies do not know how to measure it. On the other hand, the immediate costs of customer service are very easy to measure.

Because of this, furniture companies usually try to solve customer service issues in the cheapest way possible. This includes reducing personnel costs by using automated answering systems instead of hiring more people, trying to reduce liability and weakening warranties by adding limitations and exceptions into the fine print of he sales agreement, and by disputing customer complaints.

It is very rare for a furniture dealer to try to measure the cost of an unhappy customer or the value of an extremely happy one.

Every furniture dealer knows that it is easier to sell a customer who has previously bought in their store, but they fail to take the next logical step of trying to ensure that every customer feels so well treated that they want to return. And that they will encourage their friends and family to return also.

Furniture companies who truly understand the value of great customer service go over and beyond to satisfy their customers. Great customer service in the furniture industry means more than just this simple premise, however. It means being proactive before the problem ever happens.

When a customer has to wait several weeks for an expensive purchase such as furniture, they worry. At a minimum they need to be able to quickly reach somebody knowledgeable at the store or online who can inform them about what is happening to their order.

Even better is if the company can act proactively and periodically contact the customer to update them on the orders's progress. If you are an online furniture dealer, communication is even more important. Communication is the single most important factor in creating satisfied customers. An order can be 2 months late, but if the company has communicated properly with the customer there will usually be no problem.

Some of the bigger companies have gone to a "virtual agent" on their websites as their primary basis of customer satisfaction. What is particularly frustrating about this is that it clearly is a way for the company to save money and is not about trying to make the buying experience a good one for the customer.

Refund and return policies are another frustrating point of contention for online furniture retailers. Returning a sofa or bedroom set is very expensive and most dealers will try to make the customer pay some or all of the cost.

Great customer service is actually very simple. It begins with the premise that the company must communicate on a regular basis with each customer and must be able to quickly and accurately answer all of their questions and keep them informed.

The next requirement is something that has been known for a long time -- "the customer is always right." This can be difficult for the furniture dealer when he is faced with the prospect paying out a refund for a $3000 order. It doesn't matter.

Keeping the customer happy has value because she will let her acquaintances know about her good treatment which may generate future sales. Not creating an angry customer who will complain about you to everyone she knows is even more valuable. The absolute worst situation (which happens over and over again) is when you make the customer angry and still have to refund the order. That is loss on top of loss.

The third requirement is to surprise your customers by doing more than they expect. When they pay for 5 fabric swatches, send them 10. Surprise them with some free throw pillows along with their sofa. When they call to say that the fabric they chose for the sofa that just arrived looks terrible with the rest of their furnishings and what can they do about it, surprise them by telling them it is no problem. You will make them a new sofa in a fabric they like better and they can return the one they don't like without penalty.

Most furniture dealers would scoff at that last example and say nobody would really do that. But it is an actual example. There are a few furniture companies out there that will do whatever it takes to keep their customers happy.