What happened to service, any service at all...?

Basic service should be something every company should provide, not exceptional service, I'm talking just service.  If we expect our businesses to survive, we need to provide service.

I'm trying to contract a construction company to complete a commercial fitout.  I was astounded to see the tender deadline come and go this week with not a single tender submitted.  One of the key companies I asked to tender, had tendered before but their service had been substandard in getting back to us with questions we had asked about their tender, in some cases they just simply did not respond at all.  When I met with the director for a second time, I explained this issue and he assured my it was an oversight.  I gave him the scope of works, a set of plans and the deadline time and date with basic contract terms.  He said he would get us the quote back by the tender deadline.

I also decided this week to follow-up with a tiler who had just re-sealed the main entrance to our building, I sent him an email to the email address he sent the details from only a month earlier, only to find his emails bounced back- 5 times!

Then on Thursday, I had a call from the office to say the Air-conidtioning service people had turned up just before 8 and they had been let in to Level 1 and did I know what they were there for. There had been no phone call, no prior arrangement and I now had a situation where I had a female staff member, in a building, by herself with a random Air-Conditioning person, who had not been booked, nor did we know why he was there. A shiver ran down my spine wondering if he really was an Air-conditioning person at all. I called the company, no answer- this was now 8.10am. I had to leave a message and then contact someone else from our office to ask when he would be in as i was worried about my staff members safety.
A few hours later I finally got a call explaining they were there to do our service, but had told no one.

We must remember these occasions and ask ourselves-how does our business perform in these circumstances.  As a leader, you must ensure that you are prepared to test your service, but covertly and overtly and let your team know constantly the level of service you expect them to provide.  I shudder to think about us ever sending people to customers un-announced or scheduled.  Service is paramount.  Have it or lose business. End of story!