Launching Springhead

As we’ve been working to launch Springhead, we’ve been on the customer side of a number of services. From hosting and infrastructure to office setup to legal advice, it has been intriguing to observe the differences in how these companies view their customers. One of the companies that I worked with has an excellent focus on the customer. I was impressed with them as they worked with me on the Springhead graphical identity (i.e. our logo).

They listened. They listened very well. They spent time to make sure that my thoughts and ideas were considered. They went through multiple iterations with good interaction and communication between each iteration.

Overall, I’m pleased with my interactions, but one thing keeps nagging at me. As soon as my order was placed, I received a call from my “project manager”. Being somewhat familiar with both project management and sales, I have to tell you that “project manager” was a bit of a misnomer. My project manager began trying to up-sell me on additional services before they had started working and before I had seen any results. Big mistake. This left me questioning where the “project manager’s” focus really was. Are they going to get this done? Will I be nickel and dimed to get the deliverable I want?

Long story short, I’m very pleased with this company and their service. But one interaction left a negative impression. It diminished my experience with them. How does your company do? What interactions might you need to rethink?