Connie's Kreative Expressions customer Diane Reinhardt admires a bouquet of flowers. Reinhardt, who works next door, frequently makes purchases at the flower and gift shop.

David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star

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Sure, Connie's Kreative Expressions has beautiful floral arrangements, unusual handicrafts and unique tchochkes, but it's the customer service that generates repeat business.

Gone are the days when customers traded away quality service in exchange for price reductions and convenience, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov). Customers are again demanding a high level of customer service from companies big and small. And it's the small companies, like Connie's, that can benefit most.

A three-year study by the National Federation of Independent Business in Washington, D.C., showed that small businesses that put heavy emphasis on customer service were more likely to succeed than competitors emphasizing lower prices, according to the SBA site.

But shop owner Connie Bernardini didn't need a study to tell her that.

"We have great customers and we treat them well," Bernardini said. "I'm very picky about the quality of my flowers and my crafts."

Connie's Kreative Expressions, in an East Side strip mall, is celebrating its 10th year in business this autumn.

"When I got the crazy idea to open my own business, I did research and it said, 'Do something you love,' and I've always been crafty and I was making arrangements out of my home for family and friends," she said.

Bernardini's mother, Beverly Bostic, works in the shop and knows another reason her daughter went into business.

"She was tired of going to places and not getting adequate customer service," Bostic said. "She told me when she opened, 'I want to give people smiles.' "

The Small Business Administration Web site states that 65 percent of a company's business comes from existing customers, and it costs up to five times as much to attract new customers as it does to keep a customer satisfied. Ninety-one percent of unhappy customers will never buy from a company again, and they voice their dissatisfaction to at least seven other people.

Pat Malone, an escrow officer with Title Security Agency on the Northwest Side, became Bernardini's customer 18 months ago after the women met at a LeTip of Tucson meeting, a referral group for businesses.

"Connie is excellent. She does beautiful flowers. She takes her flower arrangements very personally," Malone said. "Everybody I've sent flowers to … everybody's been really pleased with them. She has a really high standard for work, she won't do anything less than perfect.

"Customer service is her main priority," Malone said. "She absolutely wants and gives the very best. She wants everybody to be happy."

Customer Dominique Fredericksen started going to Connie's when she worked nearby.

"Every time I've sent something, everything is done on time. She's never missed deadline to get it there," Fredericksen said. "If I tell her, 'I love this person, but I don't love them that much,' she'll figure out some way to make sure they get a beautiful bouquet that's within my budget.

"She also has some beautiful crafts, particularly her Desert Fairies. I've been buying those and sending them to people all over the country, and I get incredible response," she said.

Fredericksen said the fairies look like angels but come in the colors of an Arizona sunset.

She said Bernardini's shop "is a little bit hard to find, but once people find her, she becomes their florist."