C.S.I. has been a popular television program for a few years and has spawned a C.S.I. New York, Miami and others.

The program and much of the work of other detectives such as Sherlock Holmes are based on the fact that when there is contact of any sort between a victim and a perpertrator, there is a trace. It may be a fingerprint, a thread of clothing or D.N.A.

Any contact with our customers will leave a trace, sometimes good and too often neutral when it could be good and on occasions – very poor indeed.

I tell my customers to never answer the telephone with ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’. You will be wrong one day or perhaps may as well be if they are calling from another time zone. It should not matter for much, but it does.

• What sort of welcome letter do you send to your customers?
• Create a few calls – out of the blue – just to see how they and you are doing!
• Check your telephone messages and those of others in your office
• How long does it take for a customer to reach a ‘real’ person in your office