The air conditioning guy just left you with a $350 bill for what seemed like a few tweaks, a couple turns of a screw and whole bunch of trips between your heat pump and his service van.

So how do you feel about that bill now?  Do you wish you had been a member of their ‘platinum customer’ service plan that gives you free emergency calls during weekends?  Do you feel like $350 was a lot of money for 90 minutes of work?  Do you wish you had gone to vo-tech in high school, or are you just relieved to have air conditioning again?

If part of your business is service related and I’m actually hard pressed to think about many businesses that don’t have a services component, then the question you should be asking yourself every day is this.

What is the value of services rendered AFTER they’ve been rendered?

Are your services really worth what you charge?  Are they worth more?  Less?  Does your customer find great value in your services?  Can they get them elsewhere, cheaper and easier?

Most of us have short memories.  Your customers are no different.  The old saying of “what have you done for me lately” really does apply.  Always remember that your customers need and deserve the best value you can offer.

Tell them what you’re going to do for them, do it for them, and then tell them what you did for them … over and over again.  It can take a while to build trust.  Your reputation might get you in the door, but a long term trusting relationship with your customers means matching your actions to your words and putting your customer’s interests first.