“I foster relationships with my customers from the first phone call,” says David Klingenfuss, the owner of an electrical contracting company servicing clients in the Bay Area.
David Klingenfuss has worked on all sorts of projects over the past 30 years, from wiring entire homes to working in a biological tech lab. These jobs all took a high degree of skill, and Klingenfuss needed to learn new skills on the go in order to ensure his customers were satisfied.
Klingenfuss believes in keeping his customers happy, engaging with them and ensuring they have everything they need at every step of the customer experience. He uses a combination of in-person communication tactics, and digital methods such as email communications.
When it comes to running a successful business, you need to keep your customers happy because simply attempting to improve your customer’s experience can boost your business revenue and keep you in business longer.
According to Dimension Data’s Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report, 84 percent of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in revenue.
Customer experience is often abbreviated as CX, and businesses that generate a positive CX can bring in up to 5.7 times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience.
Klingenfuss has had over three decades of experience in customer service and in running a business, which is why we decided to interview him to find out the experience he’s gained and how his customer service skills have evolved over the years.
Specifically, we wanted to delve into the operations that David Klingenfuss implements to keep his customers engaged, happy and satisfied.
“I listen to what they have to say,” says Klingenfuss. “Then I offer my opinion and come up with a plan to best serve their needs.”
“When I’m on a job site, I’m presentable and take care to keep their home or workplace as clean as possible”
As a courtesy, Klingenfuss also gives his customers a 24-hour notice in a text before he arrives at the job site. He says it’s important to keep his customers informed so they know what’s happening at each stage of the project. He says it also helps him prepare in advance because sometimes customers can’t make it to appointments and need to reschedule.
He says client communication is important, and he always ensures to keep touchpoints with clients as informative and helpful as possible.
At this point, customer service comes naturally to David Klingenfuss, but he says the skill can be learned by anybody who wants to do a good job for their customers.
Above all else, Klingenfuss says it’s important to provide the highest level of service as possible to clients, because they will always remember the hard work you do for them.
“Because I am a one-man shop, my customers get my full attention and since I have over 30 years of experience, it sets me apart.”
David Klingenfuss recently launched a new website to share tips and tricks about electrical contracting and running a successful business. You can read his posts at: www.davidklingenfuss.com.