Thread: The Hancock and Moore Difference

Sometimes the differences between one maker and another are not tangible, its not something you can put on a spreadsheet and assign numbers to. Same with your choice of selling dealers. Here's a story I have that occurred yesterday, and this is why I hold Hancock and Moore near and dear to my heart as my favorite supplier.

One of my customers and a forum member here was having severe second thoughts about her leather choices on a pair of recliners. She has seen several samples of the leather she selected and there was a considerable spread in the dye lots of them (old leathers do have color changes on swatches, which is why I never let my handles get older than 3 years before replacing them). We emailed back and forth and I said "If you are concerned, then why not change your order to a CFA (cutting for approval), that way you can see exactly what you will get". She liked that idea and next day I got an email from here and she said that she would like to do that.

So I called down to H&M and Customer Service, and they said "Oh no, you can't get a CFA, the leather has already been marked and cut this morning. You are couple hours too late". OY....this is the kind of call you hate to make...but I did and told her that it was too late, the leather was cut and no changes could be made. This greatly upset her (but she kept her cool) and said "Is there nothing we can do? I really want to make a change" And I said "Not usually at this point - its a done deal, but let me call the CEO and I will go to bat for you best I can, don't get your hopes up, though. Worst he can do is say 'no'."

I made the call, but he was on the road, and I spoke with his # 1 Office Manager and my go-to lady for when the going gets tough and laid it all out. She was very sympathetic and said "Oh no, Duane...that's terrible to not want the hide that was selected, and it was expensive GR 4 leather. Once its cut, we would have no use for it and it would have to me used for making samples, and that's the single biggest cost on a build - it would cost a lot of money to void that cover. I'm so sorry....".

Then I called my customer back and explained that there was nothing we could do at this point. It would cost well over a thousand dollars to salvage that GR 4 leather that was already cut. She accepted that and was very disappointed, and I felt bad for her, but we were out of options.

About ten minutes later my phone rang. If was my gal-pal at H&M. She took it on herself to walk over to the cutting and marking room of the factory to put eyes on the order, and though the computer said it was cut and marked, in turned out it was on the cart and the next order in line for the cutter. It had not physically been cut yet. She snatched the cart and and pulled the work ticket, then put the leather in storage and called me to say we could change the leather. And so, I was able to call my customer back and tell her the good news, she in turn was stunned. And happy!

I know of no other supplier's associates that would stop what they were doing and go out and do that. As the Office Manager she has a hundred things to do and could have just moved on to her next task like most people do. Instead she made that extra effort to to out to the plant and check, because at H&M (and The Keeping Room) we really DO want our customers to be happy with what they purchase, its not just marketing buzz. And I wasn't willing to stop at what the H&M Customer Service told me on the phone, I called in my chips to see if we could figure something out other than the customer becoming the stuckee. So it turned out really well!

And, as an added bonus, my customer lives in North Carolina, so tomorrow morning she is making the trip to Hancock and Moore in person to see the hides for the order and to look at other options in the leather room. That way she can get exactly what she wants.

Wow! And even more awesome that they are letting her come to the factory to let her pick something out...is that something they normally do?

It's a working factory and not a showroom, so you can't really expect someone to wait on you and the leather for the most part is in large bins that are not designed to go through. Most likely if you went there (by appointment set up buy your selling dealer - you can't just show up) you would get to sit in the reception area and have the same 6" x 8" leathers on the handles that dealers have and go through them there. Then, if you needed to see a big piece, they would pull a hide and bring it to you. In this particular instance, they have the hides for her order set aside and the alternate leather she is considering, so it makes sense for her to go there to see color accuracy, which is her primary concern.

That is the very definition of customer service, and in current times, akin to eye-spying a unicorn. The level of service (aka: effort) you provide is exactly what one experienced back when my, now long-deceased, granddaddy was a tailor. He provided time, skill, and guidance to the very best of his abilities, for each and every customer. He was humble but took pride in his work and service. And, as an aside, when my daddy showed up with his first ready-made, off-the-shelf dress shirt, my granddaddy was incensed. Not because my daddy had done business elsewhere, but because, in my granddaddy's opinion, my daddy had spent good money on an inferior product. In my grandaddy's eyes, the product wasn't just the end result; it was the service leading to that quality result.

Duane, that is why my husband and I are doing business with you. From reading other forum members' comments, we aren't the only ones. It seems people are starved for just a bit of quality and personable customer service. Or, maybe it's simply that I'm old enough to recall when quality customer service wasn't a rarity. Regardless, Duane, thank you for what you do!

Thanks! I try....I can't always get the resolution a customer wants in every instance, however I will put in extra efforts to solve any kind of situation or problem to the best of my ability, and choose suppliers who think likewise. The fastest way for a supplier to get tossed out of my store is if they won't help to solve consumer issues. You have to stand behind your product and do the best you can for the customer, each and every day.