DAS In Disguise

© 2000 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Winter 2000
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 32

DAS In Disguise

Editor’s Note: For each DAS in Disguise story, we call a door dealer at random, with the caller disguised as a potential customer. We report how that dealer handled our common customer service issues. Our goal is to encourage excellence and professionalism among dealers.

Pay attention. You might be called next.

“What’s Your Cheapest Door?”

We called a dealer in California, randomly selected from a list of California dealers, placing the call at 10:40 A.M. local time. A female answered. We wanted to see how they would handle a typical call for a cheap door.

DAS: I was wondering if you could tell me the price of the cheapest door you sell.
Company: How big?
DAS: 8’ by 7’.
Company: 425.
DAS: Is that the installed price?
Company: Yes. 24 gauge.
DAS: And what brand is that?
Company: (Names brand.)
DAS: Okay, thank you. That’s what I need to know.

Our Scoring

1. The company provided a quick answer to our question. 2
2. They volunteered some, but little information (24 gauge) about the door. 1
3. They made no attempt to get our name and phone number. 0
4. They made no attempt to determine the needs of the customer (e.g. insulation, windows, expected life of the door, the purpose of the door). 0
5. They offered no details about the features or benefits of the door. 0
6. No encouragement was given to call again. 0

Total Score: Very poor (3 of 12, or only 25%).

The Bottom Line

This company missed a golden opportunity to sell not only a door but their company as well. If the respondent was not a salesperson, she could have referred us to the sales department. At the very least, she could have asked for our name and number to pass on to a sales rep.

Sales are often won or lost at the point of the initial phone call. This one lost.