The golden rule ‘The customer is always right’ has been the unofficial guiding principle for millions of business’ the world over. Whether your business is consumer facing or business to business making sure your customers are pleased with your products and services are really the keys to success for business.

Great customer service can offset situations that brings the old adage into your discussions. In reality, ‘The customer is always right’ is a mindset that is infused into all of our client interactions. If you’ve got to a point with a client that you need to decide who is right and who is wrong , you’ve already lost that client.

Hanging in the lobby of our Pristine Printing offices, we have a simple set of principals about our customers.

1. A Client is the most important person ever; in this office, in person, by phone or by email
2. A Client is not dependant on us – we are dependent on them.
3. A Client is not an interruption to our work – they are the purpose if it! We are not doing them a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to serve them
4. A client is a person who brings us their needs. It is our job to handle them effectively and profitably for them and the company.
5. A Client is not someone to argue or match wits with.

These simple principles, set the tone everyday with how all members of our team conduct themselves. We know our customers pain points of– price, service, turnaround and quality. And so each interaction with our customers means we are directly or indirectly addressing their needs and concerns. From our graphic design team to our executives– each member of our staff is dedicated to making our customers experience with Pristine Printing exceptional.

Last year Warren Buffet was presenting at Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program graduation at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y.
When asked about the most important piece of advice for entrepreneurs, Buffett highlighted the contrast between just satisfying customers and delighting them.
“If there’s one thing to remember: Delight your customer,” Buffett said. “If they could write this on their mirror so that they saw it in the morning when they got up every day — they could write it in Sharpie, they could write it in lipstick, they could write it in soap.”
For Buffet, how much a product costs matters less than the service someone provides when selling it.

“If you’ve been treated well and honestly, if you’ve been delighted by the person you’re doing business with, you’re going to return to that person,” he said. “You also have to treat the people who work with you well, because they’re your intermediaries many times to that customer. You want them to feel that same way.”

The better equipped you are to provide service to a loyal customer, the more likely they are to stay with you. Dan Hesse, CEO for Sprint Nextel offered his thoughts on customer service in a recent Fast Company article. ‘ Great customer service actually costs less because you can save expenses if you don’t have to fix problems or correct wrongs. Second, the key to great service is employees. We’re focused on empowering all employees to serve customers.

Treating your customer like someone special is something we do naturally at Pristine Printing. It’s an approach that comes straight from the top. Our CEO Fred Pristine has the uncanny ability to make customers, supplier and staff feel as if they were the most important person in the world. It’s an approach that has proven to stand the test of time as Pristine Printing celebrates 40 years of business.

If you’re a small business owner or senior marketing manager, these simple tips cannot only open up conversations and opportunities, they set the tone for each time for every professional exchange you have over the course of your day. At Pristine Printing we look forward to our next opportunity to delight you.