About four years ago, we had installed one of the very early Screen Innovations Black Diamond Motorized screens for a high-profile client—a CEO of a well-known dotcom e-commerce site. The screen was basically the precursor to the Zero-G line in which the screen drops from the housing in a cassette on cables, and then unrolls from the cassette, eliminating the large, unsightly, black material at the top of the screen in the “drop zone.” It’s an amazing mechanism and an absolutely elegant execution.
Last month we got the email that everyone in our industry dreads. The projection screen had not only failed, but the entire cassette had fallen out of the housing and was now laying on the client’s floor, after damaging some items on the furniture underneath.
Image: Thinkstock
I was freaking out and immediately reached out to Screen Innovations, forwarding along the client’s email so they had as much information as I did. I was out of the country, so phone calls were a bit difficult. I also emailed the client to let them know how shocked I was that this had happened. I commiserated with them on how scary that must have been and assured them that we would take care of it.
The client responded quickly that she was happy that we were taking care of it. I was honestly surprised at how calm she seemed. I was prepared, although not at all thrilled, to absorb the cost if SI didn’t come through, but I had a strong feeling they would.
Fortunately, Screen Innovations jumped into action. Kellen Medeiros, the quality control manager and seeming guru of all things Zero-G at SI reached out to me immediately and assured me the screen would be replaced with the current closest product—Slate Zero-G—at no cost, and they would rush it into production so we would have it in two weeks. Needless to say, I was relieved that I had some good news for my client.
Kellen and the whole team at SI were amazing and took great care of our company and of our client. That is what a long-term partnership looks like.
Our client was also extremely complimentary. She was impressed with our service, that we took care of the issue so quickly, and how efficiently we installed the new screen and disposed of the old one. Again, I was a little surprised at how appreciative she was, as I was expecting some frustration and/or anger at this happening; it is definitely not something you expect to happen no matter how old the product is. It just goes to show you how building up goodwill with your clients can pay off in the end (and having some very nice and understanding clients doesn’t hurt).
It is experiences like this with Screen Innovations and other manufacturers that have kept us loyal to our partners. When you find someone who will take great care of your company and your clients, it makes changing vendors a very risky proposition. In the same regard, when we as home technology professionals provide great service and support to our clients, they don’t leave us either.
