Recently, we obtained a new customer. She used to be with a national company and all was well —-until she needed service:

Dear “National Company”

As discussed with the representative, my reason for termination (after 5 years as a customer) is excessive fees and poor customer service. My alarm system was malfunctioning, and after several calls with “National Company”, it was determined that the system required a new battery. I was told that the charge to come to my house and replace it would be $150 and that I could not replace the battery myself. $150 to replace a battery? How utterly absurd. I went down the street to Cunningham Security (3 blocks from my house) and they replaced the battery.

Cunningham was cooperative, polite and helpful. The people I spoke with on the phone at “National Company” were rude and dismissive.  With Cunningham, there is no “truck fee” when coming to make a service call. They are offering me the same level of monitoring for significantly less each month. They are local. But most of all, they make me feel like a valued customer.

To be frank, the most attention I have received from “National Company” is after I decided to terminate. Having run several businesses, I would respectfully observe that perhaps you should put a bit more effort into your relationship with your customer before they come to this point. I called 3 or 4 times to see if there was another way to resolve replacing a battery at a more reasonable cost. I was met with rigid inflexibility and a complete lack of empathy.

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This customer wanted us to have this letter and we want to share it with you.  We want to ensure that you know that customer service is our number one goal. We want to hear from you as your input matters!