You and I are probably both frustrated most of the time with the services some larger corporations give, in Costa Rica and in many other parts of the world. Globalization and the large corporations are taking over. Therefore the client friendly smaller companies and mom and pop businesses cannot compete anymore, unless they take care of their clients.

Personally, I try to give any business I might have to smaller organizations, especially those that give me a good service. If you live in Costa Rica or any other part of the world, we probably battle these same problems.

In October this year I wrote a blog  about the nicest real estate closing of my life, where I complained about the bad service Scotiabank is giving lately and that many of my clients, who I referred to them, are not satisfied at all. In the past, I did put in complaints with the manager, the supervisor and everyone else I could reach in that bank, but nobody cared.

When I grew up, people and companies cared about their clients. Nobody seems to care anymore, at least that is my experience with lots of services I pay for. But soon, there might be a change in this pattern.

Blogging makes people listen

Shell Johanson, our real estate agent in Cariari, knew for some reason that the new President of Scotiabank had just arrived and forwarded him my blog. The next day, I received a call from Mr. Ronald Valdez, Vice President of branches and external sales, asking for a meeting. Mr. Valdez heard me out, told me that they were working hard at making their clients happy and assigned a person to my office. They are aware that since they have grown so much as a bank, they need to educate their employees constantly to make them aware that the client is still king. The larger businesses have too many rules and employees prefer to lose a client than break those rules.

I must say that since then, though nothing is perfect in life, at least someone is listening to what I have to say at the bank and matters are generally taken well care of. So if you are a GoDutch Realty client and you have any problems with Scotiabank that we might be able to give a nudge, let me know. They seem to mean well and want to try to make unhappy clients happy again. Give it a shot.

Aspect - customer contact solutions

This past Monday, I read an article in the La Nacion newspaper about Aspect  – a US based company with offices all over the world, offering Next Generation Customer Contact. What really caught my attention is a big truth, one that most companies selling products and services seem to have long forgotten: “and Aspect understands that your success depends on your ability to meet these consumers on their terms”.

They state the following: “These highly networking consumers can make or break a brand’s reputation and are more demanding than ever as they expect anytime, anywhere access to information through an increasing array of sophisticated communications devices”. Aspect offers IT solutions for those companies that have customers they cannot keep happy anymore because they have lost touch with their clients.

Complaining on Facebook

Aspect realizes that social networking like Facebook, Twitter and blogs are making it possible for anyone to complain publicly about the services someone gives (or doesn’t) and word is getting out quicker and is accessible for everyone. Halelujah!!! Now finally someone is thinking again. I propose the following product and service providers to hire Aspect, maybe paradise will be paradise again soon.

• Cable TV companies
• The phone company
• The insurance company
• The water company
• The power company
• Extermination companies
• All banks
• Many lawyers
• Many doctors
• Many real estate companies

Not only did my complaint get Scotiabank to understand they need to work harder on making their clients happy, also the mayor of Escazu started kicking butt after I plogged about the the disappearing rainditches, though I think I need to blog again, because its been a year now and they are still working on those ditches.

If you have any comments on the above, feel free to do so below.

By Ivo Henfling, your Costa Rica real estate agent who DOES believe that treating your client as one will create more and better business in the future. It’s the sole reason all GoDutch Realty agents are still in business in this crisis while many Costa Rica real estate offices have shut down. Ivo offers lots of real estate listings for sale in different locations of the Central Valley.