The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business

7The New Service Imperative

Our dishwasher abruptly stopped working. Oh, crap.It was eight years old, so my wife Yukari and I decided against repair.

We discussed how to choose a new dishwasher and the best way to have it installed. To be honest, we weren't looking forward to the process at all. Based on our experience with appliance purchases in the past, we assumed it would be an unpleasant ordeal. It wasn't about money—we would gladly pay for a quality product and good service. No, it was the reality of losing a day waiting around for plumbers and electricians. We dread dealing with painters and plumbers and delivery companies and snowplow people, because we have come to assume that poor customer service is part of the package.

We considered various options for replacing our dishwasher, including buying it at a big home improvement chain or online at Amazon.com. However, if we decided on either of these two retailers, which were the least expensive options, we'd have to hire our own plumber and electrician to do the installation as well as figure out how to dispose of the old unit. Too much hassle.

Busted Dishwasher. Great Service

So we chose to work with Yale Appliance + Lighting, a company that we had used in the past. And it worked out great. We spent a bit more, but the fantastic service was worth every penny we paid above the DIY options.

The excellent customer service actually began with the sales department. Unlike our experience with the salespeople at other appliance ...