No I dont keep in touch with my customers. I talk only if I meet them somewhere; I don’t keep in touch with customers. Whatever work is there, customer is customer.
I don’t lend money to customers. Only to regular customers who I know will pay. To trustworthy customers I provide credit. If it's somebody else who says they don’t have money, I return their vehicle.
If it's necessary I keep in touch with customers on phone; if customer has left his vehicle for repair then I keep in touch.
No I dont talk to customers unnecessarily . if I am doing his job and it's necessary then only I will talk to him. If I open a vehicle and there is some part that has gone bad, I click a photo and send it on WhatsApp; I tell them that this part has gone bad and needs replacement. After seeing the message, they call me back.
We build relationships with customers, interact well, and provide quality goods. Customers come if we behave well. Speak well, don't get angry, make them sit when they visit, and interact well. So, customers will buy. I don't do anything else. I only serve those who come to my shop. What else can be done?
When a new customer comes, I offer items at a reasonable rate compared to other shops. My rates are not high, and I keep my profits very low. I don't try to exploit the customers. When a new customer arrives, I inform them that I am taking the least amount of profit. If they find a better price elsewhere, they are free to go there next time. Once they develop this trust, these customers will become regulars.
Yes, I stay in touch with my customers. We do talk over the phone with those people whose numbers I have. I ask them why they have not come for many days.
I build trust with my customers by simply talking to them. It is up to them whether they trust me or not. During our conversation, I discuss common topics. For instance, if a customer comes to me to get their phone's display fixed, I assure them of our excellent service and promise to do a good job. If they trust me, they will leave their phone with me. Otherwise, they will choose not to proceed.
Three things are important to bring customers back to the shop: the rate, behavior, and quality should be good. Only then will customers come. If our behavior is not good, the material is not good, or the quality is not good, customers will not come. We choose a good college for education. We consider Bangalore to be the best city for education. It is the best for education.
Customers come to my shop repeatedly and they are my regular customers. It depends on quality. As I have maintained quality and rate, customers come to me. Otherwise, there are many shops and customers. There is no rule that you have to buy from me. You can buy things from wherever you want to buy. It does not matter. I have already told you that customers consider behavior, quality, and rate.
Yes, sir. There are a few customers who have been with me for 5-6 years. I have a diary. I write in it. I don't remember it and I forget it sometimes. So there are a few customers who give me half payment. They are very nice. I don't have to call them for the payment. They come and give me the money. Then I cut their names once the payment is done. They come to buy one item but they take 4 of them from my shop. They bring the money for just one item so they take that but they also don’t leave the rest of them because they think what if they don’t get it afterwards. So I ask them to take the rest of them and do the payment afterwards. I know most of them and that’s how you build your customers. Loan is a must in any business. And there are a lot of ladies. They get pocket money. So they give according to that. So they get a lot of benefit in my shop. If they want to wear a necklace for a function then they take it and do the payment afterwards. Their work is also done. And I have to go every two months. My money comes before two months. So work is also done. Sometimes they give in installments. Some customers give in installments. Sometimes they give the whole amount together.
Yes, customer service that is after sale service. It means that do you provide after sale service of selling the product to the customer or not and you are fulfilling your commitment. Suppose you haven’t fulfilled the commitment and I sold a calculator to the customer and told him that come back to me if there is any problem. When they come back to me, I tell them to talk to customer service of the company and don’t come back to me. so like this the customer will never come to you again. When customer comes to me, I provide them customer service number to them, instead of them calling, I will call them on their behalf and raise a complaint. So this way, customer will feel that he has treated us nicely and fulfilled his commitment. So these are techniques to build a trust with the customer to have loyal customers.
Products that are not sold are a loss for me. I talked to the vendor and he advised me to return them. But I don't have the time to pack and send them back. So, it's a loss for me. However, I haven't given these poor-quality products to my customers. They are still in the drawer, and I will dispose of them. What else can I do? I can't give them to anyone because they are of low quality, and I will lose a customer. We believe in the policy that one loyal customer brings ten more loyal customers, while one disappointed customer can discourage ten others. We follow this policy. I aim to build long-term customer relationships. If you buy a bulb today, tomorrow you may return for wiring. If you have any future requirements, feel free to ask for suggestions from us.
Yes, the products we sell here are also available online. It doesn't personally affect me, but it's beneficial for us. It's an opportunity we offer to our customers, where we inform them that the online price is lower by a hundred rupees. Even with this discount, we still make a profit. Nowadays, all customers search online. Everyone wants to check the cost and the profit and loss. We check here and show it to them so we can easily send it. That is an opportunity for us as of now. However, people who are not aware of this option buy online. Once a customer comes to me, once or twice, they become my loyal customer. I am committed to maintaining this relationship, whether it is because of my behavior, the product pricing, or my nature. I have never lost a customer. Once I sell a product to someone, they always come back to me.
Customers are important and because of them only our business is running. Sometimes customers try to bargain in spare parts, I deny them because I don’t use roadside spare parts in the vehicles. But sometimes for customer’s satisfaction we have to fix spare parts in cost price only. Our profit might be very low with that customer but we have to let go. Sometimes we don’t get profit also but we let customer do his way. We feel our customer base should not break down. Suppose a spare part would be worth 120/- and we want to sell it for 100/- but customer will demand it for 90/-. Sometimes we incur loss of 10-20/- and give it to the customers. We feel our customer should not break. We want next time that customer’s car to come to us only for repairing.
No there is no competition from other shop, their customers are theirs and our customers are ours only. See the customer standing behind you; he continuously gets his car repaired from us only. He has come from 12 kms far. He comes here only and he does not go anywhere else. If material useful in his car is not available with me, I arrange it for him anyhow. If there is no customer in my workshop, they send their customers to me. They are my friends only. If they don’t have any material, they come and take it from me and if I need some material, I approach them. Little bit far there is one shop like us, he is also my friend. At the time of need they give us the material and we give them the material to use in the car of the customers.
I have regular customers like him. If I don’t open the shop for a day, these regular customers will come tomorrow. They will also call me. They have my number. It is written on board and outside. I don’t mingle with them on WhatsApp or anything like that. Whatever they ask I give them, that’s it. This is my relationship with them.
Customers come and leave. Other than that I don't keep in touch with them. I don’t notify them of any new items on Whatsapp. They come and ask. They come for the season. If they come on Sundays, they come and see.
I also have their phone numbers to contact them, especially when they leave my shop. Since I have customers from different areas, they may see me somewhere else and greet me with a hi or bye, or even stop to talk to me. This interaction continues over time. Additionally, I have WhatsApp, which allows me to stay in contact with them.
The connectivity with the customer was improved after using WhatsApp Business.
Whatsapp is something that makes me more connected to the customers. When I meet a customer, I take their WhatsApp number and provide mine as well. This way, when I have a new collection, you can see it on WhatsApp. I save the numbers of new customers so they can see the collection and we can communicate. By communicating, I can build a relationship with the customer.
If a new customer comes, we try to make them our regular customers based on what we say and the rates. We have to show them the quality of the products at our store and convince them. That's all. So, they will visit other shops and come here. There are a couple of huge wholesale stores nearby, and they will see the rates there and come. Some people may not like the quality, and some people just ask for the rates. For example, if they want around 2 times, they will inquire about the rates of at least 50 items. Sometimes they may want a particular item that is not available, so we will buy and keep it specifically for them. If we give them what they ask for, they will definitely come again next time. We should be friendly and talk to them. We must not be harsh towards them. Sometimes they may ask if we have a family, so we have to answer them as well. They will call and ask us for the items. There are 4-5 customers who call and place orders. They may visit once every 4 months, but the bill will come every month. So, we will deliver the order, collect the cash, and come back.
I can't do anything if customers aren't satisfied. Every customer will be different. There are customers who will buy some items, and for a while, they will buy from us. But after some time, they will stop coming completely and start buying from another store. However, if they are not happy with that store, they will come back here. If there is a rush, they may want to get the items quickly, but it will take time as there is a line. They might go away and get it from another store. Even there, there might be a rush, so they may come back to us. They have done this during festival time as well. However, I haven't encountered any rude customers, and we haven't been rude to anyone either. They will generally call or come back after an hour to collect the items. Sometimes, they will want us to deliver the items to their house, so we will deliver and then receive the payment. Some people will send the bill and go to work; they will instruct us to send the items to their house, where someone else will receive the delivery. Alternatively, some people will give us the bill and keep it ready in the evening, so that they can come back from work to collect it. we need to maintain accordingly, as the customer demands will be different on different days. Like today, we have a bill. He has told us to pack the items and deliver them by 8:30 at night because they will be home only by then. They gave us the bill in the morning itself.
When a new customer arrives, I should welcome them warmly. When I had a grocery shop, I used to call them "annachi" (elder brother). If they are ladies, then I would call them "akka" or "amma". Since this is a chappal shop, I address them as sir. So, when they come, I first greet them by saying "vanga", which means "Please come". Then I inquire about their well-being. I mention that they haven't been coming to the shop for a long time. Even if I had met them a week or 10 days ago, I would still say that it's been a long time since we last met. Then I show them the models.I am courteous, and they feel happy about it. If we try to sell items with a frowning face, it will not happen. Even if we give them the items that they want, it would be like a machine dispensing things. So, it is always good to welcome them with a pleasant smile. When they enter the shop, it means money for us. They are walking on the road, so why should they come to us? Even if they purchase something for 10 rupees, it is profit for us. This is something that I learned in my childhood from my owners. They are gurus for us. I only completed my education till 6th standard, so all the shop owners whom I worked with are my teachers. But the present generation is not ready to learn from us. Earlier, people who worked under me are well off. But for the past 5 to 6 years, the people who come to me are not ready to listen. They choose the wrong path. As a result, these people have not succeeded in their lives. However, the people who worked with me in the beginning have started their own businesses. They thank me for guiding them. I am 53 years old, and my own shop owners are all 80 and above. But still, I remember them fondly.