A customer story

I had a new customer order a couple of our units just before New Years. The equipment needed an option installed, and because of the holiday and subsequent year-end inventory, we couldn’t ship it last week as he desired. I had been trying to keep him informed but getting the equipment out was out of my hands. Friday our shipping manager sent the customer an email telling him his units would ship on Tuesday. We received emails in response after 5pm on Friday asking for expedited delivery.

Monday morning at 9am, unannounced, his lab manager showed up in our lobby asking for his equipment! He had rented a pick-up and drove up from Maryland to Michigan over the weekend. He inferred from the email that the equipment was ready, and we were just waiting for a regular pick-up on Tuesday, when in fact we still had to prep for shipment. The shipping manager and I were both talking to him, and we knew that we couldn’t commit to getting the equipment ready. We also both knew that it wouldn’t be smart to get the person who could commit in front of him (and there were no other authority figures available for him or us to appeal to).

He said he would just wait for his equipment. So, we asked him to have a seat in a conference room while we investigated our options. “While your waiting, can I get you a cup of coffee or something?” I asked. “No, I just want my equipment,” he replied, thin-lipped. Is this guy going to sit in this room all day, I wondered.

Once I was able to tell him the equipment would be ready later, I was able to break the ice. We sent him off in search of loading straps while he waited. After lunch, we had his equipment on his pick-up truck. By the time he pulled away, he was all smiles and very thankful for all our help.