This week, my husband and I experienced the epitome of poor customer service. The silver lining is a great story to help our community of small business owners.
Here’s the deal. We had been scheduled to close on a property for 4 weeks and found out the morning of the scheduled closing (via email) that there was an issue with the underwriter. Don’t even get me started on being notified via email, but I don’t want to bore you with the details.
We immediately called a highly regarded mortgage broker who provided exceptional service in the past. (It’s a long, irrelevant story why we didn’t work with him on this property purchase). After hearing our voice mail, he knew he wasn’t the guy to help us in this situation. Yet despite it being an incredibly busy time for refinancing and an undoubtedly hectic schedule, Rodney promptly called us back to explain why he wasn’t the guy for us right now and why we should stick with the existing mortgage broker in this situation.
Not only did Rodney solidify his expertise by saying no, he guaranteed a referral from us when any of our friends are looking for a mortage broker. The small business strategies here are just because you’re not the right small business for a client today, doesn’t mean you won’t be tomorrow. You never know who your clients know and who else they may refer to you. You should be just as happy and interested to help a client whose business you’re earning today as you are a client whose business you may earn in the future.