Customer and Company Relationships Should be Mutual

RCS Influencers Ashley and Seth Pietsch say that a foundation of trust and respect has to be there with the customer. 

The old adage goes: “The customer is always right” – but are they? We would argue that instead, a customer is always entitled to their opinion, but they are not always entitled to working with us. Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc works with a vastly diverse population of clients, as insurance is a necessity for anyone and everyone, and does not discriminate between social or economic class, ethnic background, profession, etc. That being said, the insurance policies and programs we offer, come with discernment in the clients we choose to have ongoing working relationships with.  

From day one, we at Integrity have aligned with the idea that insurance is a mutual relationship between the agent and the client. This relationship is founded on trust and respect. We wholeheartedly accept the monumental responsibility of protecting our clients’ financial livelihood by providing the best possible insurance program and walking alongside our clients, advising and consulting, throughout their businesses’ lifespan. We cannot do this when a foundation of trust and respect is not present.  

While insurance discussions, claims scenarios and premiums can bring up uncomfortable points in conversation and some heartburn, we are there in the trenches with our clients and accept the responsibility of staying ahead of the curve with loss control, risk mitigation and always-evolving insurance knowledge and expertise. 

While we are focused on our clients’ experience and strive to go above and beyond, we are unwilling to jeopardize our core values: honesty, transparency and consistency. We have found that the clients we truly want to build relationships with are not the ones who are causing strife and unrest within the agency-client dynamic.  

When a client is unable and/or unwilling to align with the core values we have chosen as our guiding principles, it simply is not a good fit. Part of our commitment to transparency is a willingness to have difficult conversations when it's not a match. This is honest and truly does come from a place of integrity.  

Such a conversation can look something like this:  

“Bob, it's become clear that this is not a good working relationship between the two of us. Respectfully, it's time to go our separate ways. Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc will no longer be representing your insurance portfolio. I will assist you in your transition to a new agency by preparing a packet of all the necessary information we have on file to streamline the process. I want to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work for you during the time that we did and wish you the best of luck.”  

Part of recognizing when something is off is having a set of standards that you not only hold yourself to but hold your clients to as well. When you don’t, there is an imbalance that can only lead to dysfunction and disappointment on either side of the relationship (or both). Finding our stride in attracting, retaining and serving the right clients has elevated our business to the next level. There is no insurance policy that is worth an abusive, unhealthy relationship.   

Seth Pietsch is the president and Ashley Pietsch is vice president of Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc. See Seth’s full bio here and Ashley’s full bio here.