A Lesson in Good Old-Fashioned Customer Service, Gone Bad.

Try getting an estimate from Hansons Windows here in Southeast Michigan without both the man of the house and little woman present and you'll be in for a fight.

Let's take a trip back to the 1950s.

When my wife Laura, Atomic Ideas' time-stressed, always working President, called to get an estimate to replace our gutters, they essentially (albeit pleasantly) refused to come out unless she could assure them I (the aforementioned man of the house) would be there, too.

Laura, dealing with impending deadlines to get the gutter job done, told them that would be unlikely and that dealing with her alone would be just fine. Hansons, in turn, still refused to come out unless the big guy (me) would be there, too. After several follow up phone calls from Hansons to see if she had arranged for me to be present, Laura politely (and repeatedly) told them it was her or nothing. After more rationalization and push-back from the Hansons rep., Laura was not only mad, she was insulted by their stubborn "Father Knows Best" attitude. She told the rep. she was no longer interested in talking to them.

Bottom line, In the time it took to get three other estimates, Hansons annoyed the heck out of Laura, refused to adapt to her needs, and therefore lost a potential customer... probably for life.

To us in the branding and advertising world, Hansons steadfast refusal to alter a business service model that smacks a little bit of the 1950s, seems a tad ridiculous. 

Sure, we understand that they probably have a higher close rate when both the husband and the wife are present. But let's face it, in the 21st Century, that's asking a lot. Business need to adapt to the circumstances of their customers.

Times have changed.

These days, women initate and make most of the purchasing decisions in the houshould. Then there's the fact that the number of dual income married couples is up to around 54%; households where the wife and hubby are both separately up and on the go from dawn until bedtime juggling work, kids, and what little free time they have left. Unfortunately, just trying to get mom and dad at the dinner table together with the kids these days is a tough proposition.

It's hard to believe that we're the only folks who have been put off by Hansons tactics. In our opinion, their model is flawed and just a little bit insulting. Laura, like all working women (and stay at home moms, too) is perfectly capable of handling the estimate and discussing the information with me so we can both make a decision. Honestly Hansons, that kind of thing really does go on in 2011.

In our case, you can be sure we'll never call Hansons again... a customer lost forever. With everything Hansons has to offer for homeowners, that's a potentially huge price to pay for being intractable. They are still calling us though, offering gift cards and all kinds of other things to try to get us both together for an appointment. Apparently, "too late" is something they don't understand either.

To Hansons we say adieu, and think on this... in today's global consumer landscape, women rule! In other words:

 It is better to have estimated than to not have estimated at all.

                                                                       ~ Anonymous Rocket Scientist

Comments

[Russ Tate]

Hey Greg (aka, Name Witheld) & Clark, obviously Hansons have some issues that go beyond Laura's and mine! If they are monitoring social, hopefully they'll read the post... and then, no doubt, ignore it.

[Clark King]

LOL -- we tried to get a quote from them for windows several years ago. The sales guy showed up late, took up to much of our time -- then refused to give us a quote when we had to cut him short as we were expected elsewhere. I'm not sure how they have stayed in business for so long.

My guess is that they are in the midst of a social media wake up call -- as there are more tools than ever for sharing bad (and good) experiences.

Just for fun, I think I'll go see what people say about them on Yelp! ;-)

[Name Withheld]

You dodged a bullet. My brother had Hanson' come out and give them an estimate. Talk about high pressure. They wouldn't give a price until they knew what other companies my brother had, or was going to talk to. My brother just wanted their best price. Which they (supposedly) gave. For the next week they called every day lowering their price each time. He told them he asked for their best price up front. Why could they now cut their price? They had no answer. He said he was not interested in working with them. They continued to call for days afterword!

In short, they not only alienated my brother, but myself, my other siblings, many of his good friends, and like me, the people they told. Had they dealt in a civilized manner, they would not have slammed the door on 20 or so potential future customers. I would never call Hansons and would advise anyone I know not to.

Also, in my opinion, their advertising sucks!!! It's annoying, and I wouldn't let Mr Hanson in my living room on a dare.