Call waiting: even your best customers need a phone call now and then - Firing Line

Prosales, Dec, 2002 by Tad Troilo

"Martin called," our store manager told me. It was 10 a.m. and I was on my way to a distant jobsite to measure for cabinets and trim.

"Martin who?" I asked, raising my voice over the static of a poor cellular connection.

"Martin Vincent."

Darn cell phone. I thought he said Martin Vincent.

"Martin who?" I asked.

"You heard me," the manager said.

Dear God in Heaven, he did say Martin Vincent.

"Why?" I asked. But before he could answer, I lost my connection.

Martin Vincent called. What could this mean?

I made some desperate phone calls, but only managed to learn that almost everyone at the yard--the general manager, store managers, and company owner--knew Martin had called. But nobody knew why he had called, just that he wanted to meet with Nick, his salesman.

Typically I panic when a hard-nosed customer with a tendency for loud complaints and outrageous demands calls up. Or when a customer who is known to forget his own instructions phones to ask why we did things the way he wanted us to. But Martin Vincent is none of these. He is one of our best customers and has been doing business with us for more than 15 years. He has built a strong and efficient organization of purchasers and project managers that has made his life as a builder and our life as a supplier easy.

And that was why I was panicked--we don't hear much from Martin these days, which made the question of "Why did he call?" all the more terrible.

The panic throbbed in my head during my jobsite visit. I tried to concentrate on the job at hand, and eventually, I was back in the car heading home.

I reviewed the likely issues that led to the phone call. For every possible complaint or problem, I mentally listed responses, complete with action plans and timelines. Then, I tried to cross-reference my action plans with the company directory, deciding who would do what and when. In other words, I was driving myself crazy.

Finally, I made it back to the store and ran right into Nick.

"Nick ... Martin ... called ... problem ... what?" I stammered.

"Take deep breaths," Nick said. "In through the nose, out through the mouth."

Eventually, I stopped hyperventilating.

"Martin called," he said, much too calmly. "He wanted to talk to me."

"But what did he want!" I screamed, unable to take it anymore.

"He wanted to chat," Nick said sheepishly. "To see how things were. To catch up."

Things were going so well, as far as we were concerned, that we had left Martin so alone that he felt out of touch. He called because he wanted to remain connected to his primary vendor.

The moral of the story? Too often we spend our time reacting to those customers who call only to complain or demand. Customers like Martin, with whom we've developed finely tuned working relationships, still deserve our time, if for nothing more than to affirm our continuing association. It's important to remember to call our customers who don't call us--before they feel they need to.

Tad Troilo is a manager for Cranmer Lumber and Hardware in Beach Haven, N.J. 609.492.3111. E-mail: TadNt@aol.com