Devoted to customer service and the principles of exceptional customer services

This is part two of my interview with Birdie of Beauty Dish...The first part of the interview can be read here.

What’s the best part of selling Avon?

I deliver Avon brochures along the short streets of my small town. I  
sell lipsticks and deodorant door-to-door, canvass an area of a  
couple of hundred homes hidden by juniper and cedar, a place still  
untouched by the recent years of rocket-crazy real estate investors.  
I leave my books on faded wooden door steps and cracked driveways. I  
wait for customers to call with orders. I demonstrate delicate  
lotions and spray perfumes.

Most of the time it's a tough business. I feel the hurricane burst of  
slamming doors. I track down customers with bad checks. Sometimes  
Avon does me wrong, sends me the wrong product, charges me the wrong  
amount. Sometimes my boys miss school with the flu and I can't toss  
my mascara to the wind. Sometimes good things happen - I meet a rich  
customer with an open wallet, I make a new friend, I find a product I  
love.

Avon gave me a reason to connect to humanity, a reason to extend my  
hand to touch another person. Avon gave me a backpack of glamour, and  
though my skin glows pink and my legs are soft and smooth, the real  
beauty happens every time I knock on a door and a new person answers.

What percentage of your customers have come to know you through  
your blog?

Most of my customers are local folks - those in my neighborhood and  
surrounding areas. I do have a small collection of online customers.  
I don't use my blog to promote my own Avon business, per se. I don't  
come right out and say that I can be your personal Avon Lady, as I  
don't want to post anything that might go against my Avon Rep terms  
of service agreement. If someone emails me and asks, I send them to  
my online Avon website, or mail them a brochure. I've made real-life  
friends through my Avon blog!

In terms of customer service, how do you think Avon compares to  
other companies?

Avon stands behind its products 100 percent. I can't stress this  
enough. If you don't like a product - regardless of the reason,  
regardless of how much of the product you have used - you are  
entitled to a 100 percent refund. I honor this tenant and consider it  
the foundation of my own Avon business. You can't beat 100 percent  
guaranteed!

The last part of the interview with Birdie will continue tomorrow!  Stay tuned!