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I’m not exaggerating when I say that Ric’s provides the most impeccable service I have ever come across. I have an eye for business performance and superior service and Ric’s has delivered time and time again.
Here are the fundamentals. They do what they say they’re going to do, when they say they’re going to do it. Wow, you would think the formula was more complicated than that, but it isn’t. Yet most businesses screw it up several times along the way.
Here’s how Ric’s does it. I get into a minor car accident that was the other person’s fault. The other driver practiced self responsibility and contacted their insurance company to start the process. The insurance company tells me about some auto body shops that are on their approved list in my neighborhood. I ask if Ric’s is on their list and they say “yes.” I tell them I’m taking it to Ric’s.
Before I have time to call and schedule the repair Laura from Ric’s calls me and asks when I would like to come in. I tell her the date and she asked if I will be needing a rental car and tells me she will arrange that as well. She’s enthusiastic, courteous and good at what she does.
I take the car in on Monday morning and Laura is there ready to go. She introduces me to Dean Slaughter (one of the owners) and Dean proceeds to tell me the schedule of events over the next five days.
I ask about my rental car and Laura looks a bit agitated because the rental car company is not there to pick me up as promised. Laura makes an executive decision in favor of the customer, as do all extraordinary business peak performers. She hands me the keys to a rental car that was just returned and tells me to drive it over to the rental car facility two blocks away to speed up the process. (Incidentally the rental car place wasn’t all that thrilled with Laura’s decision – but I loved it!) So I’m in and out quickly.
Back to the auto body repair. People from Ric’s call every step of the way just like they said they would, when they said they would do it. Monday the estimate has been approved by the insurance company, Tuesday the car is torn apart and worked, still on schedule to be done on Friday. As you might guess, they call me Thursday afternoon at 4:00 to tell me they have the car done. That helps me considerably with my day on Friday by being able to pick the car up on Thursday afternoon.
Ric’s is very wise in his strategy to under promise and over deliver. I have to tell you that everyone at Ric’s seems to embody the same meticulous attention to detail and customer focus. This is my third repair over 10 years and every experience was impeccable! Thus, my customer loyalty when the insurance company suggested other providers closer to me— I will I go out of my way to go to Ric’s.
Is your business impeccable about its customer service? Do your employees like Laura, have the presence and confidence to make decisions on the fly on behalf of the customer? Do you communicate with your clients every step of the way?
Ric’s gives us all something to shoot for!
I thought about returning a rental car to the rental car company’s facility but Laura said “don’t worry about it – I’ll handle it.”
Thanks Laura, Dean and everyone at Ric’s