The Importance of Finishing Well

Anyone can have a great start, but it’s how you finish that defines you.

This really applies to just about anything in life, but is especially true when it comes to customer service.  I’ve been getting a real-world lesson on this lately as my husband and I go through an unnecessarily painful process of replacing the siding on our house.   (On what planet did someone determine that compressed cardboard siding – known as masonite - would hold up against rain, wind and heat?)

To find a contractor, we asked around to see what companies were highly recommended and then checked them through Angie’s List.  Next, we had each company do a walk around of our house and give us “their pitch”.  My husband handled the technical questions; I asked the business SERVICE questions.  We then reviewed each bid, (it still amazes me how many contractors think writing a number on a piece of paper is a “formal bid”), and selected the company to do our work.

At first, everything seemed to go great; the work was humming along.  But then, the two back doors ordered for our job came in wrong, and our contractor’s communication started to go downhill.  At one point, we had the wrong doors installed with no hardware, which meant no way to lock them – NICE!  A job that was supposed to take 10 days dragged on for over two months.

As a business owner, this experience reinforces the pivotal importance of providing GREAT customer service throughout a project, right up to the end. This long-range view is one of the reasons our clients continue to come back to Horizon Productions, year after year.  Like any industry, we get our share of curve balls! But, everyone on our team understands that it’s how a company handles challenges that defines who they are.  In our case, we face those issues head-on and find solutions.  After all, it’s our name on the project AND the process, and we want our clients to be thrilled with both!  We start well and we finish well.  We guarantee it.

By the way, we finally did get the right doors and they look great!