It Starts With Sales

Joe Turner, a customer service consultant for the home building industry, believes a builder's sales department can go a long way toward eliminating "serial construction defects," his term for problems that are repeated in almost every home in a community. "Consider requiring the three people who actually control the process - sales, construction and customer service - to meet weekly to discuss issues, share problems and find solutions that work."

The sales department also is instrumental in shaping the customer's overall attitude, he says. If buyers arrive at their walk-through with suspicions and skepticism, there is almost nothing customer service can do to make them satisfied. Conversely, "if they arrive there in a good mood, customer service can enhance that."

For more about Turner's customer service philosophy, check out his newsletter at www.joeturner.com.