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Turning Customers into Friends — Exclusive Interview with Mou Ke, Distributor of Qianchuan Wooden Doors Luzhou Specialty Store

　　The first contact with General Manager Mou was when I took on the exclusive interview task for Manager Xiang Sunkui of the Luzhou store. It started with a phone call to understand Manager Xiang's situation. Before hanging up, the reporter politely said "thank you," and he replied, "No need to thank me, we are comrades on the same front line, brothers and sisters." This sentence left a deep impression on the reporter and still lingers in my mind.

　　Hearing the voice but not seeing the person, when I received the task to interview him, I was secretly delighted, thinking that I could finally step into the legendary life of this Qianchuan Wood Door dealer...

　　(Luzhou Dealer Mou Ke)

　　From the regional manager's description beforehand, before meeting General Manager Mou, I had already sketched a rough impression of him: decisive, dedicated, and straightforward. When he actually appeared before the reporter, it further confirmed the previous impression.

　　The reporter and his team met General Manager Mou at the Qianchuan Wood Door Luzhou specialty store. As soon as they sat down, General Manager Mou demonstrated his exquisite tea art, then "reported" to Manager Liao about the work: the new store has been renovated, and later we will go together to see what needs to be improved; we have responded to the company's call and recently put a lot of effort into engineering; the new store's trial operation is going well but has encountered many problems that need further discussion... After the "work report," amidst soothing music and drifting tea fragrance, our exclusive interview began.

　　Decisively taking on Qianchuan: "Even if it means selling everything, we must do it"

　　Rather than a formal interview, it felt more like a chat. General Manager Mou led everyone to recall the beautiful time when they first connected with Qianchuan. At the end of 2009, just starting to get in touch with Qianchuan, by chance, Manager Liao, then a Qianchuan Wood Door salesperson, came to visit and left a stack of materials and a business card. "At that time, one of my stores was about to close, and I was planning for the future. One day, I happened to remember Manager Liao's card and materials, so I called to chat and learn more. After several contacts, I felt it was good and was interested in operating this brand. What finally made me decide was visiting the Qianchuan Wood Door headquarters to understand the company situation in person. Seeing the relatively large scale and inspecting the workshop, I found the raw materials and production process were very good. After visiting the headquarters, I felt Qianchuan Wood Door was worth doing."

　　After deciding to do Qianchuan Wood Door, many difficulties were encountered, with funding being the most urgent. Speaking of this, General Manager Mou fell into deep memories: "The previous store had always been losing money. Deciding to do Qianchuan Wood Door was to turn things around. Because of continuous losses, after deciding to do Qianchuan, I really had no money. We made a seemingly very risky decision—to mortgage our house to get a loan, and all the loan was used for the initial investment of the Qianchuan Wood Door store. During the process of taking on Qianchuan and opening the store, rent, product orders, renovations, and so on were all big expenses. The loan from the house mortgage was not enough. We had no choice but to buy on credit whenever possible and then repay bit by bit after making profits." Through continuous efforts and strong company support, the Qianchuan Wood Door Luzhou specialty store finally opened smoothly in April 2010. "At that time, our idea was that we put everything on the line; if we failed, so be it."

　　Operate Qianchuan with integrity: Doing sales is about being a person

　　The store opened, but for General Manager Mou, who was completely a layman in the wood door industry, it was indeed challenging to do Qianchuan business well.

　　"At that time, I knew nothing, the pressure was immense, and I felt like a snail carrying a heavy shell. We hired many sales assistants and salespeople; many things did not require me to understand, but to excel in a field, one must be proficient, so I studied wood door knowledge daily at the store, greeted customers, and thought about how to sell products, manage the specialty store, and plan the store's future." Gradually, the layman became a wood door expert. When asked about wood door professional knowledge, he could answer effortlessly, and the Qianchuan Wood Door Luzhou specialty store thrived.

　　In the process of continuous learning and improvement, General Manager Mou also realized a truth and created his own sales philosophy. It is this philosophy that made him stand out among Qianchuan Wood Door dealers and continuously break sales records at the Qianchuan Wood Door Luzhou specialty store. Don't think this philosophy is complicated; it is very simple, just seven words: Doing sales is about being a person.

　　These seemingly simple seven words are General Manager Mou's sales summary over many years, containing profound meaning. "My understanding of 'doing sales is about being a person' is actually very simple. Sales is simple; being a person is hard. As long as you are a good person, sales will naturally be good. I think most people, when they think of sales, have some bad memories: unrealistic, boastful, exaggerating everything, annoying, feeling salespeople are unreliable and untrustworthy. This was also my impression of sales, so I thought I must never do sales like that. You can deceive for a while but not forever. I want to do sales as a person, never losing people's hearts. The most important thing in being a person is honesty, keeping promises, so you can stand in the world. Being honest with customers earns their trust. I believe only by being honest and good people first can you do sales well. I always tell our staff this: you must be a good person. It's okay if business fails, but you must be a good person."

　　Wholeheartedly doing Qianchuan: Turning customers into friends

　　Relatives are friends arranged by God, and friends are relatives you find yourself. "Would you recommend bad things to your relatives? Would you be willing to lose your friends because of a business mistake? I think most people definitely wouldn't treat friends like that, and neither would I. I believe friends are my best support; without them, I wouldn't have made it this far. I like to make friends all over the world, so I have always adhered to the sales philosophy of 'turning customers into friends.' I sincerely treat every customer as a friend, as family, recommending suitable, high-quality, cost-effective products to make them happy to come and satisfied to leave. I make friends with sincerity and treat relatives with sincerity. Customers can feel my sincerity, and gradually many customers have truly become close friends. So when people around them need to buy doors, they think of me first and I recommend our Qianchuan products to them, which creates a series of chain effects. This chain reaction aligns with Haidilao's philosophy of 'grabbing customers table by table.' By capturing one customer, the people around them will always have needs and there will always be a market. Through this person's purchasing experience, we promote Qianchuan products and our service philosophy, which not only meets their purchasing needs but also completes the sales and cultural promotion of Qianchuan products. Doing business while making friends results in a win-win situation, so why not? Our sales philosophy has accumulated great popularity; now at least one-third of our customers are referred by our old customers. Previously, a teacher from Luzhou Medical College purchased wooden doors from us. At first, due to delivery issues, he came to 'find fault,' but in the end, we became friends. He even introduced many other teachers to buy our products and even introduced the dean to buy doors. This is inseparable from our philosophy of treating customers with integrity and as friends, which is the best interpretation of this philosophy."

　　Sincere customer service: After-sales support is half the battle.

　　Qianchuan Wooden Doors can hold its ground in the Luzhou market and has its own space, not only because of its unique sales philosophy but also largely due to its distinctive after-sales service. Speaking of Qianchuan's after-sales service, users of Qianchuan wooden doors in Luzhou deeply appreciate it. It is 'thoughtful': four free maintenance visits, prompt on-site repairs, regular phone follow-ups, warm text message greetings, etc., allowing customers to truly experience the feeling that 'customers are like family.' When asked why they do so many seemingly troublesome 'useless tasks,' General Manager Mou also shared his experience.

　　"I have always believed that the service industry must have a complete sales and after-sales service system. Sales are important, but if after-sales cannot keep up with sales, it is futile. In Luzhou, for customers who purchase our products, we wholeheartedly provide after-sales service to solve their worries and make them feel assured about our products."

　　"Buying a door comes with four free maintenance visits. As far as I know, this is leading the Luzhou wooden door industry because these free maintenance services are paid for out of our own pocket. Many people are unwilling to pay for this, and some find it troublesome. Often, customers do not value the free maintenance itself but rather the after-sales service experience after purchasing Qianchuan. Customers think that Qianchuan wooden doors offer maintenance, repairs, and regular follow-ups. If problems arise, they can be resolved, so they don't have to worry all the time after buying something. This reassures customers. Only when customers feel assured will things be easier and a good reputation easier to establish."

　　General Manager Mou firmly believes in one saying: neither gold nor silver cups compare to consumer word-of-mouth. He said, "Although after-sales consumes a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources and may cause losses to some extent, by doing good after-sales service, we win customers' word-of-mouth, which creates an invisible long-term advertising effect and has a profound impact on our development. We must look at problems with a developmental perspective, not just focus on short-term effects and ignore long-term benefits."

　　"We had a home decoration customer who found color difference issues after ordering Qianchuan wooden doors and contacted us. During on-site verification, we confirmed it was indeed our problem, so we sent it back to the factory for reprocessing. The second time, they found a small issue again, and we admitted the problem immediately, apologized, and promised to fix it. In the end, the repair was done three times before satisfaction. Calculated this way, we had no profit margin and were purely doing it at a loss. But this is what should be done. He is a customer who trusts us and the Qianchuan wooden door brand. Because of this trust, I have the obligation to unconditionally solve his problems until he is satisfied. Finally, we met his requirements, he was very satisfied, and we had no unpleasantness over this matter. We are still friends now."

　　Through General Manager Mou, we verified the truth that 'good reputation is built step by step, not overnight.' The reputation accumulated over the years has gradually established Qianchuan Wooden Doors' influence in the Luzhou wooden door industry, bringing Qianchuan Wooden Doors into thousands of households in Luzhou.

　　Wholeheartedly building Qianchuan: Opportunities and challenges coexist.

　　With influence established, of course, there are envious people. Competitors slander, market exclusion, low-price OEM sales, and other unfair competition methods continuously impact Qianchuan Wooden Doors' market share in Luzhou. Many manufacturers even suggested OEM sales to General Manager Mou, but he resolutely refused.

　　The reporter asked, "Doesn't OEM sales have a larger profit margin and attract more buyers? Why are you unwilling?"

　　"I admit OEM sales have a larger profit margin, but as I said before, sales is about being a person, and integrity is a must. After more than two years of Qianchuan, we have developed a good relationship, very deep feelings, like our own child. How can we replace our own child with another child of the same name? OEM sales will only ruin ourselves and Qianchuan. I absolutely will not let the Qianchuan Wooden Door brand be ruined by me."

　　This year, General Manager Mou had a second 'child'—the Luzhou Qianchuan Wooden Door branch. He made many preparations for this 'birth,' determined to give it a big 'home'—a two-story small Western-style house of more than 400 square meters. He wanted to dress it beautifully—the wallpaper was boldly innovated and carefully selected, and decorations were sourced from many places. From a sofa set to a small ornament, everything was carefully screened. "I just can't settle. Even if the renovation cost is higher, I want to decorate the new store well. Image is very important. Besides, with Qianchuan's current brand influence, only a well-decorated store can match the brand."

　　At the Qianchuan Luzhou specialty store, many brothers and sisters are working hard on the sales and after-sales front lines. We can clearly feel their enthusiasm. General Manager Mou said, "We plan to implement an employee stock ownership system, letting outstanding employees invest some money to become shareholders, become their own bosses, and participate in year-end dividends. This way, employees will treat Qianchuan's business as their own, increasing enthusiasm, reducing turnover, and wholeheartedly serving the store. This makes my job much easier. If there is a secret to management, I think this is it: fully trust your employees and let them have a sense of ownership. This is the best management."

　　The interview took place in an atmosphere of drinking tea and chatting, and ended with tea as well. Mr. Mou was always listening and answering attentively, occasionally refilling everyone's teacups. As meticulous as he is and as much as he loves tea, he integrates the way of tea with the way of business, blending the two together. When asked about the insights he gained about business from the way of tea, he smiled and said, "Actually, I'm just a rough person. The reason I like brewing tea is just to appear refined. However, I have indeed had some realizations from brewing and tasting tea. Whether a cup of tea is brewed well depends not only on the hardware like the teaware, water, and tea leaves but also on the software, meaning the person. Brewing tea is both a skill and an art, and only by combining the two can one brew tea that refreshes the mind and body. Sales are the same; you must make good use of the 'software' of people. Moreover, traditional tea culture advocates 'correctness, purity, harmony, and elegance,' while traditional business culture emphasizes 'integrity as the foundation' and 'harmony brings wealth.' It is evident that both promote the idea of 'harmony,' and one should embrace this concept, harmonizing with customers and employees alike."