A few days ago my oven started acting strange. I have a gas range and sometimes it would come on and sometimes not. I’d have to turn it on and off a few times to get it going.

Finally, last night it refused altogether, so today we took it apart so my husband could see what was wrong.

After laying on the floor with a flashlight and a screwdriver for a while, and testing everything my husband could think of, we determined that the igniter was burned out.

So… armed with the make and model, I headed for the phone to look for the part.

Since it’s a GE Range, I decided to go straight to the GE Parts Distributor. That seemed like the logical thing to do.

Well… A machine answered. Did I want to check on an existing order, did I want to order new products, did I want to hear all about their new products, and finally did I want to order parts. Yes, press 4.

That brought me back to the same menu again.

Already my brain is starting to think “grrr…”

But I pressed 4 again – and got a new recording. This one wanted to tell me all about some wonderful new frequent buyer program that would …

I don’t know “would what,” because I hung up.

Next I called a generic parts supply house. And I got a live person. And she transferred me straight to the right department. And he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Even better, when he came back on line he offered me 2 choices. I could have a “genuine” GE part, or choose a generic igniter for half the cost. Then he told me that repair people always use the generic – it’s the same part and just as reliable.

Then he promised it would go out UPS today.

So… in spite of my irritation, I’m sure glad that the GE place made it difficult for me to buy from them. They saved me about $50 by not offering good service.

And I made a note in the phone book that will cause me to call the same store the next time I need any kind of appliance parts.

I’m sure you’ve had this same kind of experience in the past, but do you stop and look at your own business occasionally to see if you’re making it easy for your customers?

It’s good to check now and then – especially if you have employees answering your phones.