Every company claims to “have the best customer service”, but how do you prove this?
Here at Alpine, we too, claim to have the best customer service, however, we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk.
What is good service? Good service is defined as “meeting or exceeding customer’s expectations”. There are many things that can encompass what we define as “good service”, and it can often be different from one person to another. There are 5 key areas that the Alpine team believe creates a good customer experience. In this blog, we discuss what we think leads to a good experience for our customers and how the team at Alpine work hard every day to excel in these areas.
Communication
The level of communication we provide is something our clients are repeatedly commenting on. Our team believe that it’s not only communication between our team and our clients that is important, but also the communication between our staff internally as well as with our suppliers. Ensuring that communication is open and fluent means that your project flows seamlessly.
You are informed about your shed at every stage of the project. This is from the initial enquiry, right through to the delivery. This is done via regular update calls and emails from the sales staff, the project managers, and even the truck driver executing the delivery.
The communication doesn’t stop there. You will also receive further communication from our team post delivery to ensure everything is going well, and our team may even visit when we are in the area.
Derrell Meyer was one client that really appreciated the level of communication he received — you can hear more about his experience with the Alpine team in this video.
Speed and accuracy
We all want what we need quickly, and the Alpine team respects this. We believe that speed and accuracy go hand in hand, and the Alpine team works hard to get your shed to you as fast as we can, without compromising on the accuracy along the way.
The Alpine team have a tried and tested system to make sure your project moves through the process as efficiently and accurately as possible.
We have a 6 step process for getting your shed to your site:
01. Approve design and quote with our sales team.
02. Plans are drawn by our architectural team.
03. Engineer approves plans and issues a PS1.
04. Building consent lodged to council.
05. Building consent approved.
06. Delivery direct to your site.
You can find out more about what happens once you have signed the contract here.
Throughout this process, there is a strict double-checking process in place. Your project goes through 7 double checking phases to ensure that the plans are correct and that every single material is included in the kitset. The accuracy achieved in this phase will increase the speed of the build dramatically.
You might now ask, what if something does go wrong? What if something is missing? This is a valid question, we are all human, and humans can make mistakes. We acknowledge this and have further systems in place to rectify errors and this is communicated throughout the team to ensure these errors can be prevented in the future.
Quality of the product
Quality of the product is another key area as there isn’t much sense in excelling in the 4 other areas of service and then having a poorly designed shed, constructed of sub-par materials. An Alpine building should be practical, look great and last several lifetimes. This is achieved through using dry timber, 6-10mm thick structural steel and being birdproof.
Ted Ingram raves about the material used in the Alpine system. You can hear more about it from him in this video.
Knowledge
A shed is a significant investment, and this may be the only time you build something of this scale, therefore, you want your shed provider to have good knowledge across all areas of the process.
You want them to have a good knowledge of what the best design is for your intended use, good knowledge of how your shed is constructed as well as a good knowledge of other designs on the market which may or may not be better suited to your project. The amount of relevant, clear and understandable information on their website will give you an idea of how knowledgeable your shed provider is.
All sales staff and project managers at Alpine have either spent time installing sheds on site, drawn plans or done both over each of their careers. This ensures that whoever you talk to has real-life experience that can be directly applied to your project. Along with this, the sales team, project managers and the consent team have weekly meetings to share learnings and knowledge to ensure that this can be passed onto the client at any stage from your initial enquiry to the construction of your shed.
Alpine Buildings was the first company in New Zealand to provide a kitset shed and have had 28 years of experience. During this time, Alpine has supplied over 4,000 sheds throughout New Zealand, and with this amount of experience comes a lot of knowledge.
The extra mile
Where does good service become great service? It’s when that extra step is taken to ensure that what you need is achieved. The small details can mean to most no matter what industry or company you are dealing with. It’s answering the phone outside work hours, it is responding to an email at the earliest possible convenience, it is providing that extra piece of insightful information that wasn’t asked for, it is the follow-up to ensure the project is progressing well.
There are many minor details that the Alpine team pays attention to, to take those extra steps on your project. This has paid dividends through the share volume of repeat clients and referrals that we encounter every single day, it is also evident in the many client testimonial videos shown on the website.
Euan’s project had some areas that needed extra attention given the location of his shed, but the Alpine team were right on the case helping Euan with the details at every step. Watch Euan’s testimonial here to hear how the Alpine team went to the extra mile for his project.
Our team work hard every day to ensure the best possible experience is achieved for each and every one of our customers. Whether it’s to discuss your initial ideas or get a quote our team are always happy to help.
Need some more proof? Our case studies page is a good place to start. Here you will find client experiences as well as inspiration for your next shed project.
