Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JANUARY 19, 1924
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Adjusting Complaints and Good Will
Rapid and Proper Adjustment of Customers' Complaints One of the Most Direct Ways at the Command of the
Music Merchant to Create a Greater Good Will Among His Potential Customers for His Organization
—How Neglect of Complaining Customers Causes Business Losses
H EN a former customer of a house
comes to the door with blood in his or
her eyes and "hitting on all six," as it
were, does the manager and the head salesman
disappear conveniently and leave the handling of
the coming complaint to a subordinate, or does
the manager himself make an effort to be the
first one to greet the visitor and meet trouble
half-way?
Handling complaints, both justified and un-
justified, is one of the problems of every busi-
ness, and upon the manner in which they are
taken care of depends a very substantial amount
of future trade for the reason that a single
dissatisfied customer can kill more sales in a
year than could be made by a couple of active
salesmen.
There has been no single product made to
date regarding which there has not been some
form of complaint and the retailer, in con-
ducting his business, may just as well prepare
to meet such trouble as he does the other
obligations of his business. Dodging the ques-
tion will do no good, for it is far better to face
il and to have the customer leave the store
mollified, if not satisfied, than it is to have
him go out with the spirit of revenge upper-
most.
There is always the chance that even the
best and most expensive instruments, whether
straight pianos or reproducers, will develop
some default, either as a result of the oversight
of a workman in the factory, or as the result
of the handling in transit to the dealer's ware-
rooms and then again to the customer's home.
Player-pianos and reproducing pianos are par-
ticularly likely to get out of adjustment in some
minor point and the trouble can be quickly
remedied if it is brought to the attention of the
dealer or repairman.
Adjust Promptly and Without Dispute
It happens sometimes that the finish of the
case is marred, that one or two notes do not
respond, or that there exist other minor faults
that can be, and should be, adjusted promptly
and without dispute. These are always the
easiest complaints to handle, for the dealer can
explain the circumstances and by prompt action
satisfy the customer that he is willing to make
good for any faults that develop out of the con-
struction of the instrument or its handling. In
fact, the customer with a just complaint should
be encouraged to make it known and as a rule
will be found most reasonable to handle.
The troublesome complainant is the fussy in-
dividual who has perhaps changed his mind
after the contract has been signed and the in-
strument delivered and seeks to evade living
up to his obligation by presenting a constant
series of complaints that are as irritating as they
are unfair. He will insist, for instance, that the
salesman told him that the ordinary player-
piano would play reproducing rolls, or that he
could play on a reproducing piano the exclusive
recordings of a competing manufacturer. He
will shove his instrument up against a radiator
or an open window and then complain when
the action swells up and sticks or dries out
and rattles and the case begins to check. He
will allow small children to use the piano as a
plaything and then expect the dealer to repair
the resultant damage, particularly where there
is still a substantial amount due on the contract.
In fact, there appears to be no end of the
complaints that some individuals can present
to the dealer, none of which are legitimate or
ethical.
It takes an individual with more diplomacy
than the average green salesman to handle this
W
species of complainant. It is a job for the man-
ager to judge the legitimacy of the complaint
and then tell the customer in a nice way just
why it cannot be considered or adjusted. If
he offers a plain and blunt "no" to the cus-
tomer's request for adjustment he has simply
made an enemy. It is up to the deater to in-
vestigate the facts, if necessary go to the cus-
tomer's home for investigation, and then point
out just why it is unfair to expect the piano
house to make good damages that are directly
due to the customer's carelessness or neglect.
The manager's judgment is particularly neces-
sary in adjusting complaints that, although un-
fair, are made in good faith. If the varnish
checks through exposure to heat or cold in the
home, for instance, it is often much better to
send up a polisher and correct the condition
as far as possible, even at a slight cost, than
to refuse to take care of the matter at all. Once
the case is refinished, the repairman can warn
the customer against exposing the instrument
to extremes of heat and cold, or to the sudden
changes in temperature, and thus forestall any
repetition of that particular complaint or any
fault-finding due to the action troubles arising
from the same cause. The frequency with which
complaints are received regarding checking
from purchasers of highly finished pianos should
alone justify the manufacturer and dealer in
making more generous use of the booklet on
the "Care of the Piano," sponsored by the
National Association of Piano Tuners. With
proper instruction as to the instrument's care
at hand, there can be no excuse for complaint.
The general demand for dull finished cases has
also served to reduce this source of trouble
to a material degree.
A Real Example
There is a case on record where a large
department store lost what would have been a
very profitable furnishing contract for a new
hotel simply because one of those who had to
do with the acceptance of the bids offered on
the contract had had a disagreeable experience
in presenting a complaint to the store. He had
purchased some expensive crockery which had
been delivered in bad shape. Not only that,
but there had been errors in assembling, such
as the inclusion of two teapots and no soup
tureen,- etc. He went first to the salesgirl, who,
in the ordinary course of things, turned him
over to the third assistant department manager,
an incompetent who tried to argue him out of
the complaint without knowing the details. The
second assistant department manager went so
far as to question the customer's veracity. The
department manager was too busy to see the
complainant at all and he was referred to the
regular complaint department. There he was
put through a formal examination by a girl
clerk and informed the matter would be at-
tended to. It took several visits and a couple
of snappy letters to get even partial satisfaction
and when the store's bid on the hotel contract
came before, him he turned it down cold. "If
they cannot adjust a small and fair complaint,
what guarantee have we that we will get any
better service on our big contract?" The ques-
tion remained unanswered.
What Proper Action Brings
The average piano salesman can cite numer-
ous instances where the proper handling of a
complaint has resulted in making a most prof-
itable friend for the house, a friend that has
gone out of his or her way to tell of the con-
siderate treatment received when some read-
justment of the purchased instrument was neces-
sary. The same salesman can also tell of the
sales that have been lost because, before the
prospect could be closed, some former customer
of the house had taken great care to explain that
not only were the products unsatisfactory, but
the company was not inclined to make good for
the deficiency. Where the customer moves in
a fairly large social circle, a little knock against
a piano house delivered here and there may
not ruin all the sales, but it certainly is going
to give the salesman something to explain away
and will make each deal in that particular circle
a little harder to close.
A Motto
The motto of the modern retail establish-
ment is to welcome the complainant and in-
vestigate each case thoroughly. This method
not only gives satisfaction to the legitimate
complainant, but generally eliminates any op-
portunity for indulging in knocking tactics.
Barnhart in New Store
HUNTINGTON, IND., January 14.—The removal of
the music department of the Barnhart Book
& Piano Store has just been completed and
a store on Jefferson street has been leased,
with W. H. Barnhart in charge. The Barn-
hart store, on Market street, has been in
operation for more than seventeen years and
has outgrown its present location. It will be
maintained for the book business, however, with
Allen Barnhart managing it, and will be run
independently of the new store, which will
handle music goods exclusively.
W. O. Wissner Recovering
William O. Wissner, of Otto Wissner, Inc.,
Brooklyn, N. Y., is just recovering from a six
weeks' siege of pleurisy. Mr. Wissner expects
to leave for the South, in order to regain his
health, this week.
3 Great Pianos
With 3 sounding boards
in each (Patented) have the
greatest talking points in
the trade:
We fix " o n e p r i c e " —
wholesale and retail.
The Heppe Piano Co.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.