Have you ever tried to hire someone to provide a service at your home only to find that nobody seems to want the work? Here's a story of an experience we had recently when trying to book a repair for one of our customers. We live in amazing times when it comes to technology. Constant innovation gives businesses and consumers an increasing number of ways to interact with each other. Online quotes, electronic approvals and payments, texting, and the use of AI have made it easier than ever to get services quoted, scheduled, and done! But real people still need to make it all happen. A company that comes to your home to do something for you is in the "service" industry and our company, Park Cities Power Wash, is an example of that. One of the services we provide is window cleaning and on a recent job a window broke while the tech was cleaning it. It was an unusual piece of tempered privacy glass between the outside of the house and a shower and it just shattered. It was nobody's fault really but, of course, we agreed to replace it. Since it was a one-of-a-kind type of setup we couldn't just send the measurements over to a glass company, have the piece made, and install it ourselves. We needed a professional. That's where the fun began. I did some research online and found a few businesses near our customer's home. I called the first one and somebody picked up right away. He was clearly on a cell phone and out in the field but I explained the situation and he asked me to email him the dimensions and some pictures so he could get me a quote. So, I did. And a few days later I followed up. And I never heard back. Next, I called company two and somebody picked up right away. He was clearly on a cell phone and out in the field but I explained the situation and he asked me to text him the dimensions and some pictures so he could get me a quote. So, I did. And a few days later I followed up. And I never heard back. Are we seeing a pattern here? I began to wonder if this project was just too complicated and these guys were busy enough with "normal" jobs to be bothered. It's great to be busy, I thought, but they should at least let me know that they don't want the work so I can move on. I have a customer waiting on us to fix her window after all. Finally, I called company three and again somebody picked up right away. But this time it was someone on the office staff that was equipped to actually act on my request. I sent her pictures and dimensions and she came up with a rough quote but, because of the complexity of the install, she also wanted to send someone over to take a closer look at it. Now we were getting somewhere! We set a time for the next day. I received a call from someone else confirming the visit, and another call when the technician was on his way. The gentlemen that came out were professional and knowledgeable, figured out exactly what needed to be done, and told me I would get an updated quote later that day. The quote came in as promised and was actually lower than the original price. I called in and made the down payment and, presto, they put the piece into production. Easy! So what's the moral of the story? Fancy websites, chat bots, text message reminders, and electronic payments are great tools for doing business but they don't save us time, or make our lives easier, if there aren't humans behind them that care about actually putting the "service" in service business. At the end of the day, we got the job done and our customer was happy. The window may have cost a bit more with company three, who knows. But the first two companies definitely cost us more in time which is probably more valuable in the long run. At Park Cities Power Wash, we like to think of ourselves as the service company that just happens to clean houses and commercial properties. We have the technology conveniences too but we feel this outlook helps us maintain the human touch needed to do a great job. So, if you find yourself struggling to get someone to take your business, give us a call. We'll be happy to help you out! Park Cities Power Wash at 214-390-3377 or email us at info@parkcitiespowerwash.com