Recently we were awarded business from a new customer. The supplier is a small company featuring highly desired capabilities and, in this case, provided very good pricing. So we got an initial “trial” order.
The supplier’s customer service person is one of the owners, who’s often in the shop. In order to minimize customer concerns, we suggested several communication steps and we would greatly appreciate your comments on our recommendations.
1. Provide the customer with a primary contact. We suggested an office person who could answer basic schedule questions and quickly find operations people if needed to avoid voice mails.
2. When a PO arrives, call the customer to acknowledge receipt with thanks, and also give the customer the anticipated ship date.
3. If any delay occurs, call the customer ASAP to announce the expected delay and the new anticipated ship date, and then when the items ship, call to report that fact with appropriate apologies.
Continue these steps for several months. If PO’s are processed efficiently then it’s appropriate to ask the customer if all these steps are necessary, and what they would like in the future. The idea is to ensure the customer is informed of order status and NOT SURPRISED with bad news. We want to keep our customers happy!