The Steel Guitar Forum

[quote="Tony Prior"]as written above:

Toni, that is a crock of.... Companies "resources" must include accommodations for all"

who said ?

where is your common sense?

MUST ?

Must what ?

no one is forcing anyone if you dont force yourself

well guess.

Accommodations for all ?

there is space for everyone

What does that mean ? Accommodations for all ?

like i said space for everyone including you


Now keep in mind, I am not attempting to say that being polite is not the proper thing, but it's not a required thing..It may be if you want someone to call back and make a purchase , but thats where it ends...

yes. no one is picking just one dot.

it's not a requirement or a law...

well i think youd want to have it as a law

The entire premise of this thread is based on one side of a story.

there is no story. a person tells his experience. how he was treated. and thats not a story. storys are for children.

that is my entire point from the get go....

well then why do you still stand in the red light

I thought everybody knew that Ann Fabien is the one you answers the sales line

[quote="Tony Prior"]Actually, in the notes above I have been told there are no BAD customers..

yep youre totaly right.
a customer is interrested in your products and he who aint, aint no customer

and thats where we differ.

thank god.

Someone who tells an experience is telling a story...how do we all know it's accurate and complete ? Someone above actually says, "here's my story"...

well "here is my story" aint have to be taken caracter by caracter.

In a post above someone says that a company MUST accommodate all customers..

like i said a customer is interrested in your products. and you wanna sell then sell to a customer

again, who says ? Make it a Law, HUHHH ???

not me.

we can all agree that if a business person answers the phone they should be nice and courteous, but I suspect that not all people who call businesses are nice and courteous.

well you have to be strong and take critics.
if youre weak in bussines you wont survive long.

truth is, there are BAD customers, just like there are BAD business people.

in youre own imagination. wake up wake up!!! or no sleep sleep .....

Ok, you win..

[quote="Tony Prior"]no bad customers ?

Ok, you win..

no no no there is no looser or winner.
only business

I respect all differing opinions from mine and we have really strayed on this thread from the topic thats for sure..

I'm guilty..

Hope all have a great day..
over and out
tp

The thread started with a simple phone call asking a question. No rocket science here. The sad part...... In this case someone at Carter had a dream of making a good steel....better then the next guy did.....They obviously put in a tremendous amount love for the steel and effort to create a good steel. The toughest part was still to come.....Getting the WORD (This is the key to the thread) WORD out that Carter is ready to show it's stuff to the world. The tough part is there are not 50,000,000 people that have a desire to pursue a music dream to sell to. There is a very limited base of customers. There is obviously someone at Carter that has the ability to undermine this company. Every time a call rings into Carter that is an opportunity, no matter what the job function of the person answering the phone is. Everyone is a sales person. Weather we realize it or not we are all selling constantly. This person obviously should not be answering customer contact calls. Steelers\future Steelers are a different breed of cat. Very dedicated to many aspects of music. We like to talk {words again} about our love. That brings up a good question. How many steelers don't use a computer? I guess that would keep all of those people from doing business with Carter.

I have spoken with Ann several times over the past few years, and while she may have a bit of vinegar in her voice, Carter guitars has always gone out of their way to do good business with me. I have purchased a D-10, and then traded it back 10 years later for an S-10.

I can see why this might bother some people, but when you consider that they do not have a customer service department, the fact that I get to speak with the people who make things happen down there makes it worthwhile.

Ann has never been disrespectful or personally mean, she and John both wear several hats there, and when I commented on the curtness once she explained to me that they were very busy at the time and that she had a million and one things going on. And that's fine by me. I would rather have an awesome steel after a not-so-pleasant conversation than a piece-o-crap after a gratifying conversation.

Let me be clear - the presentation may lack some luster, but the products and services are top notch!

Keep on keepin' on, Ann and John, and I'll call you when I am ready for you to build my next steel.

Landon Johnson

Well said Landon on this topic. I too have tasted the vinegar in Ann's voice on my calls to her from England on various issues, but I've always stood up to her, and quite unexpectedly to me....she backs down!!! On one occasion there was a mixup on my Visa card number regarding a new Carter decal I needed. She had my old card number. E'mails were going to and fro, and she mailed me and said "Micky you seem annoyed" I replied that I was so, and all over a silly issue of just "one" decal. I told her I had been through enough in my life to have to worry about such a silly issue. Within a week, I received in the mail two new style decals for free. Of course I mailed her and thanked her. Many of us must agree the Carter's are BRILLIANT pedal steels. It's a shame that some players think that more expence gets you a better guitar......not so at all!!!!

Have a good Christmas,

Regards,

Micky Byrne
Carter and Sho-Bud universals www.mickybyrne.com

A couple of things...I have worked in a CS Supervisory capacity for a number of years, before that as a Rep taking orders, etc. I learned a long time ago that although the customer isn't always right, they are still the customer. I also learned that the voice on the end of the phone is usually the FIRST point of contact, therefore the first impression of your company. Although first impressions aren't always 100%, they CAN and DO affect future sales. I have always made it a point, and have always taught my staff, to go the extra mile whenever possible. Many times a company needs to give in order to receive more business down the road.

There were times when I didn't have a certain part in stock, and referred a customer to a "competitor," You know what? They always came back to my company to order parts because I supplied their need, and they appreciated the excellent customer service our company provided. No, you can't make everyone happy, but the exception should prove the rule. As far as I'm concerned, a company's success is a direct result of their focus on customer service, both internally and externally.

so surprised to hear all this.
Ann was very nice to this stone cold beginner. John took a phone call from me on a sunday morning to try and help me out. My experience with their customer service was very good.

Jim Paschall wrote: I hope this ends this thread. I feel that my point has been made.
Thanks

Jim

Sorry I missed that, Jim. I hadn't been following this topic because of its title. Closed.