Go ahead – leave a message for John Reffel. He’ll call you back in minutes. That’s because the president of JLS Landscape & Sprinkler, Sedalia, Colo., holds exceptional customer service in high esteem.
“Customer service and communication work together so much, so having access to me or any one of my crew leaders is very important for our commercial customers,” Reffel stresses. Every property manager or superintendent on JLS’s 100-percent commercial client list has Reffel’s cell phone number as well as contact information for the main office so each can get in touch with him at a moment’s notice.
“They have direct access to me and that in itself is a big plus for customer service,” he insists, noting that some property managers he works with have mentioned that they would call their former maintenance companies about a problem and not get a response for weeks at a time. That’s unacceptable to Reffel.
“Communication really leads to customer service,” he says. “If a customer can’t reach me on my cell phone, it’s usually because I’m talking to someone else. Worst-case scenario, I get back with them in about an hour, but it’s usually more like five minutes. I’ll finish my phone call, get their message and call them right back.
“I’m not afraid to give a customer my cell phone number or to return a phone call,” Reffel continues. “All the phone calls aren’t happy – you’ll get customers who have problems or are mad about something. But how you deal with those problems and how quickly you respond to them is how you maintain long-term client relationships.”
The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@lawnandlandscape.com.