What Does a Little Customer Service Cost?

In case you haven't heard or read Monday morning brought some pretty strong winds along with a spectacular lightning show to Harrison, Arkansas. Usually I'm not one to get too worried about storms but the way the wind howled and the limbs crashed that early morning caused me to be a little concerned. Enough so that when my wife asked if we should go sleep in an interior hallway I agreed instead of saying "You think so?"

Well after the storm cleared and daylight prevailed we could look around and see our little safe haven of a town took a little damage. An apartment complex near downtown - Hoops 'n' Homeruns - had part of their roof torn off and is now declared unsafe. Trees around the neighborhood had limbs torn off. There were even trees uprooted completely. A neighbor's house took a direct hit from one large tree and a swipe from an even larger tree.

It looks as if our neighbor's insurance will cover them, which it should! But it brought a point to mind that I think is very important. He told us that when he called his insurance company that they weren't sure both trees would be covered for removal because both would have had to hit the house in order for them to be covered. These trees were big and I mean BIG! He didn't seem too worried about insurance not covering both and honestly I think he's right. But he asked his insurance company to do something for him and they refused.

So what was it that he asked of them and they said no? He said he would feel better if someone stopped by and take photos. They said that an adjuster would be in touch and there would be no reason for them to stop by because the adjuster would take care of it. He asked again because he felt it would be better for his local representative to see for themselves. Again they said no. I'm not in the insurance business so I don't know all the ins and outs nor do I know if there are possible repercussions should the local rep do something like that. But really what's thirty minutes to stop by and make a customer feel a little better?

I'm afraid those thirty minutes might end up costing that insurance company a customer. Harrison's still got that small town feel where everyone cares about their neighbors. I love that! I'm not ready for it to grow so big that we don't talk to our neighbors. I want it to grow just not in that way. A little extra customer service will keep Harrison, Arkansas one of the best places to live.