Monday, 12 September 2011
ClickAway President and CEO Rick Sutherland cares deeply about customer service. Here's his story...
There's a sign outside Rick's office. It says, "Treat every customer as if they were your family and friends."
Rick's built ClickAway on this promise. Sure, everyone who works at ClickAway is totally versed on technology and computers and networking. But they must also understand that when someone wants a computer fixed, or a network installed, or a new laptop, those aren't the only things they are looking for.
Rick tells the story of why he set up ClickAway, back in 2001. "In the 1980s and 1990s, I used to run a tire business. You can get a new tire anywhere, and the only way to succeed in that business is to offer great value, great products and a great service, and to make sure everyone goes away completely happy. That's what we did, and we were very successful. When I sold that business I was looking around for something new to do...
A Fair Price
"I remembered that whenever a computer system went wrong in one of our offices, we had a bad time finding someone to fix it for a fair price. Guys would turn up late, they would charge us too much money, and they'd treat us like idiots, just because we didn't know about computers. We were in the tire business. What did we know about computers?
"I thought, this isn't the way we treat people when they need their cars fixed. Why should people who need their computers fixed have to be treated this way?"
He adds, "I guess, back then most of the guys servcing computers were just technical people who didn't really understand people or good service. So I launched ClickAway, because I did understand those things. And I hired some very smart people who knew about computers, networking, software. I had a LOT to learn about that stuff, and fast."
Six Offices
The company now has six offices and has appeared in the list of Fortune's fastest growing companies for the last three years.
Rick says he makes sure all his staff understand that customers can go to plenty of places for their computer needs, whether they are individual users or businesses. That's why each and every customer who chooses ClickAway is treated the same way, just like family and friends.
