Is it just me, or is customer service getting better? Banks, grocery stores, restaurants, even the gas stations seem to have turned over a new leaf in the last few months alone. And not a moment too soon! If customer service didn’t improve in this country I, personally, would have gone bonkers!  

What’s driving this force? It’s simple supply and demand. Businesses are fighting harder for their customers, and businesses are offering jobs to employees who are willing to go the extra mile to keep the consumer happy. Why the sudden jolt? I mean, it’s not like two months ago we realized consumers were tightening their belts and it took coaxing in every market strategy to gain their patronage. Again, it’s as simple as ‘time and focus.’  

Take my company, Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc., for example. Over the last two years we’ve been forced into a massive ‘defensive mode’ – working diligently to maintain strong warehouse capacities, secondary market connectivity and stay on the right side of the greatest consolidation this industry has ever witnessed. To be perfectly honest, service levels were not in the forefront of my daily priorities, and our respected managers nationwide were plenty interested in our focus on maintaining a strong mortgage banking platform.  

Now the dust has settled a bit, there’s new competition, and we are headed into a new era of commerce that will last for at least a decade. With a greater ratio of product choices to available consumers, the concentrated consumer segment nationwide now has the capability to demand quality and service even more now than it had been able to in over a decade. If businesses, and employees of businesses, cannot heed the consumers’ call in every consumer segment – then good luck!  

Test this theory out by going out to a restaurant in downtown San Francisco. It doesn’t matter what type of food, or the name on the door – just pick one, sit down and enjoy. Due to the large number and concentration of available choices (products), and a finite consumer base choosing the product; the result is exceptional food and service at any restaurant that has been open for more than a year in downtown San Francisco. It’s easy to pick cities with the exact opposite dynamics – and with less demand for quality, service ultimately decreases accordingly.  

There is a factor in our ‘new economy’ where these service level pressures will become more prominent in all major and minor markets across our great country. It is the silver lining in economic disruptions that provides the few consumers who are spending money on a better overall experience. Value is key – and consumers will measure and judge value in ways they have not for many years.  

I can assure you that I have a new focus and motivation to raise the bar in a customer service capacity here at Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. And not just the service levels we provide to the end consumer, but all layers of service provided to our managers, production staff and sales representatives working diligently on a daily basis to attain and win market share!