A Huge Customer Service Mistake

I wanted to share a recent interaction I had in my personal life that made me think about the way things are run here at SG23 Design.

I took my car into the shop and received some pretty bad customer service. It got me thinking, if they did this one thing, I wouldn’t be so annoyed. And that thing is pretty simple – keep the lines of communication between customer/client and service provider open.

In preparation for a long weekend in the Berkshires and wanted to take my car in for regular service prior to my trip. I called my regular garage the Friday before and asked if they had any appointments available the following week. I let them know of my plans and that I would need my car back by the following Friday. I also told them that I understood if that was an unrealistic expectation and that I could wait until I returned. The receptionist let me know that this timeline would work and I booked their next opening for the following Wednesday. 

After I dropped my car off, one of the mechanics called me and discussed what my car needed. I let him know that I needed it back by Friday for my trip and he said that wasn’t a problem. It would be ready by later that night or Thursday morning at the latest. He said he would call me when it was ready to be picked up.

I did not receive a call back that day or all of Thursday. I was so busy trying to get my work taken care of on Thursday, that I didn’t realize that they hadn’t called until the shop had closed for the night.

So Friday morning I called for an update. The receptionist let me know that they had to pick up a part for my car last night. She would check on the status of the repair.

This is when I started to get very annoyed. First, she wasn’t aware of the situation, even though we had spoken about it multiple times. Second, they didn’t tell me they needed a part that could delay the process. And third, now I was running late. I had planned on leaving at 10 am on Friday, which is why I had told them multiple times that I needed the car back before Friday.

If you know me, you know that I have backup plans for my backup plans. Getting to the Berkshires wouldn’t have been an issue but I wasn’t expecting to make alternate arrangements when I was already supposed to be on the road.

When I got a call back from the receptionist 30 minutes later, the only thing she could tell me was that my car would be ready “soon”. But what is soon, I ask politely. Her response was: “I don’t know. Soon. So probably this morning.” Now I’m very frustrated because my schedule is delayed and I don’t have an exact time to pick up the car.

All of this could have been avoided if only the shop had communicated the issues with me ahead of time. I understand that supply chain issues have been causing delays in almost every industry. The supply chain issue wasn’t the problem. The problem was created by the lack of communication on their part. Had they told me that upfront, I could have adjusted my schedule or delayed my service.

I’m fully aware that my car situation is a first-world problem. But it was a great example of how important communication is, especially when working together on a joint project. 

In an attempt to avoid situations such as this one at SG23 Design, my team sends every client a weekly procurement update for comprehensive design projects. If anything is going to be delayed, they know about it ahead of time, allowing them to make the necessary adjustments on their end. My team often helps contractors troubleshoot issues so we can communicate this with our clients as well. 

Working this way allows us to stay ahead of issues that threaten our timeline. More often than not, when my team contacts a client to let them know about a problem, we already have some solutions to offer.

Working in construction, I fully understand that sometimes things happen that are out of our control. But keeping that line of communication open makes all the difference!