My furnace was out. And it was 4:30 am.

I ran downstairs and the thermostat said 58 degrees and the first thing that went through my head was the cost I was about to incur by calling for heating and cooling service in the wee hours of the morning.  So I did what any man would do – I flung open the furnace door to see if I could fix it myself.  And after a few minutes of staring at the endless wires and ducts, I quickly realized that I was fooling myself to think there was anything I could do.

So I made the call.  Now earlier in the year I signed up for a service plan with a local heating and cooling company.  So my call was to them.  I knew they offered priority attention to service plan customers as well as a service call discount.  What I didn’t expect though is what happened next.

I received a call back almost immediately from the technician on call.  While on the phone I explained what was going on.  He proceeded to ask me a series of really good questions and was actually able to diagnose my problem over the phone.  He then directed me on how to fix it and save a service call.

You can assume it was a simple fix if I was able to do it, but I can’t help but to reflect on his willingness to spend 25 minutes on the phone with me at 4:30 in the morning.  When we finished the call, I told him how much I appreciated him doing that.  He certainly could have just said “I am on my way” and charged me a service call and his hourly rate.  But instead – in his words – “I just treated you like I hoped someone would treat me.”

And therefore, one overnight service technician just got his company my commitment for another year’s service plan agreement at renewal time, my “word of mouth” recommendation to everyone I meet, and a blog entry from this local marketing professional recommending Mowery Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing to everyone that reads his post.

You wonder what good customer service can do for your company?  Now you know.  It will always be your best marketing tactic.