The Most Important Thing About Customer Service

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

In this short interview, Barry Matties speaks with Marge Laney, founder and CEO of Alert Tech SMT, about the importance of this one simple tool in effective customer service.

Barry Matties: In your 40 years in business, what do find most important about customer service?

Marge Laney: Communicating with your customers is most important. The reason why we’ve been so successful in our short time in contract manufacturing is that we’re very customer-oriented and transparent. Before I was in contract manufacturing, I sat on the other side of the table as an OEM, and I noticed that people didn’t communicate. When you sent files or a message, you weren’t sure whether you’d hear back. As an OEM, we were very involved in dealing directly with very large retailers and understood the importance of good customer service. We brought that culture into our contract manufacturing business, surprising everybody. “Wow, you people are great,” customers said. “You communicate with us, and you care about our products.” Culture is important. When we bring in a customer, there’s mutual respect and a good partnership. I don’t want it to come down to looking for the cheapest deal. No, it has to be a good fit.

Matties: As hard as we try to provide good customer service, there are always bumps in the road. How do you overcome those?

Laney: For me, customer service means talking about those challenges up front. It’s easy to have a good relationship when things are going well. But when things don’t go so well, that’s when you find out who you really are and what your relationships are really about.