Doing Business Unto Others…
Imagine how you, as the customer, would feel about what you’re contemplating.
Inspired by a print magazine article I could relate to closely, I wrote another similar article on my company’s Bug Blog called “What Business Experience Do You Give?” In a nutshell it offers a couple of customer-business relationship experiences — with me being the customer — that went bad, why they went bad, and a little advice to prevent it happening with your business. After all, creating ill-will isn’t that good for a business’s long-term future. Moreover, it just isn’t right. (Read the aforementioned article to get the full details.)
My article’s advice, which I have reprinted in part, below, isn’t terribly far-fetched. In fact, I think it’s blatantly obvious. Most of you, I suspect, will think it’s common-sense. I’m not taking that for granted, though. Not in today’s business atmosphere. You know… the spammers, scammers, telemarketers, sales clerks annoyed with your plea for a moment of their time, those fueled by greed, arrogant people, a lack of truth in advertising, ad saturation, recorded inbound messages, and a long hold time or lack of response if you dare try to contact them.
Getting Used To Bad Business
Not all companies are like this, I know, but seeking a good purveyor of that which you want or need seems to be increasingly difficult nowadays. Consumers become acclimated to any given atmosphere over time, so slowly as the years progress, they can become desensitized, accustomed to what they have to bear in the day-to-day. That’s what seems to be happening. It’s happened to me. I’ve become jaded and mostly I expect shoddy service until the company I’m dealing with proves otherwise. I almost want to shout for joy when I am surprised, but I shouldn’t. They are, after all, doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
Evolving Baselines
Always a new baseline is being set from which we build upon, generation after generation. What is now considered questionable, for example, used to be unimaginable, and will someday be typical. The baseline is set from the here and now and is experience-derived, then compounded. Those who run businesses, whether it be laying bricks or building web sites, have an opportunity to distinguish themselves in a positive way by running their business in an empathetic and forthright way. There is nothing amazing required, just a little consideration. To avoid giving your customers a negative experience, here’s some advice:
Some Practical Advice
- Return your phone calls. What? You think you’re the only one who’s busy? Make time to return calls, emails, and any other communications. Failure to do so is rude and unprofessional. The more you get, the brisker your business must be. Don’t complain — do your job instead.
- Your word is your bond. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. If you can’t keep promises, don’t make them. Others will expect you to live up to your word so do it. Always.
- Don’t point fingers. The customer doesn’t care if the salesman did something wrong, or the installer is lazy or incompetent, or if the manufacturer goofed. Placing the customer smack in the middle of your disorganized unprofessional company [mess] is an absolute no-no. Unify your company.
- Don’t make the client work. I didn’t mention it, but the masonry contractor [mentioned in my original article] asked me to go to a local hardware store to buy him a tube of caulking he needed for the job. Say what?! I’m the customer, not your gopher. Buy your own damn caulking. I’m busy as I have my own job to do and my own customers to satisfy.
- Take responsibility for your employees. If an employee is going to talk to a customer and make a promise, then your company needs to stick by it. As soon as they answer the phone they are your company and represent it as effectively as any employee or management person would in the eyes of the customer.
Advice Simplified
You don’t have to print or memorize these bits of what I hope is sound advice. You don’t need some mnemonic device. One simple way to remember all of it is to remember just one thing: When you are about to make a business decision that will affect a customer, momentarily turn the tables in your head. Imagine how you, as the customer, would feel about what you’re contemplating. How would you like it? If you listen closely, the answer to that question will be clear and you will be given the proper course to follow.
David Zemens responds:
Posted: November 12th, 2007 at 2:00 pm →
The art of Customer Service seems to have not been passed on from generation to generation. Fortunately, poor service is still in the minority, but it is become all too prevalent. The very act of trying to hire a contractor, or a service person (or a web developer, I image) frequently turns into a frustrating experience.
We have all been victims of the contractor who never returns calls, shows up late for the job - if at all - and seems to disappear for long periods of time. It’s almost as if your time doesn’t matter. But the bottom line is that it’s just plain rude. Even if it didn’t waste time and cost you money, it’s rude. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, this may be something that is a bit more widespread in society than we would like to believe.
Perhaps it’s a symptom of a greater problem?
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: November 12th, 2007 at 5:46 pm →
Lots of people do for others what they wouldn’t dream of doing for themselves. Case in point: Fast food. The burgers are poorly built, with stuff being thrown on (and they’re not taught by management to do better so it’s not the kids’ fault entirely). I often wonder… If the person who made a fast-food burger were making a burger for their own consumption, would it be made differently. I suspect the answer is yes. It’d be neater and the selected ingredients would be of better quality I bet. Hell I once ordered a bacon burger through a drive-through, and I got about a mile before I got to it only to find no beef patty, just bacon. Great.
I don’t eat fast food at all anymore, in part due to respecting myself, and in part due to poor experiences like that mentioned above. The straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, was an incident that happened years ago:
I went to a Burger King outlet and ordered a large burger with, according to the color photo, a thick, large diameter, slice of tomato. I got the burger and opened it up. It had a blossom-end-slice of tomato that was roughly 1/8th-inch thick and about the size of a silver dollar. I was disappointed so I stood in line again in hopes of getting another slice of tomato. When I made it to the front of the line I asked for another slice and the girl behind the counter asked for my burger with obvious irritation. I handed it to her and instead of her giving me another slice of tomato she viciously slam-dunked the whole burger in the trash and gave me another. Boy, she was pissed, I could tell. I was floored as I was raised in a house that didn’t waste food. What could I do but take it? I opened the “new” burger and the slice of tomato was only a fraction large than the first one. I shut up, ate up, got up, and got the hell out of there. I’ve never been back to any of them since.
This was maybe 10 years ago? Any different out there in fast food land nowadays? Nope, didn’t think so.
David Zemens responds:
Posted: November 12th, 2007 at 6:20 pm →
I understand the situation you described, Mike, but I don’t think I could go a decade without a Whopper!
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: November 12th, 2007 at 6:28 pm →
Hehe, I just got an email promising me a Whopper… but I think it was a phallic reference
OPBAD responds:
Posted: November 13th, 2007 at 2:15 am →
Plain and simple. Unfortunately, this may be something that is a bit more widespread in society than we would like to believe.
JackP responds:
Posted: November 13th, 2007 at 7:18 pm →
Mike - I do hope you realise you’ve ruined one of my presumptions about the US. I’d always presumed that since you lot brought McD’s and the like to the world that you’d do it properly with the whole “have a nice day now y’all” thang, and food that looks like the pictures in the restaurants.
I had assumed that the surly, spotty disinterested teenagers and insipid and uninspiring food was something we’d added to it in the UK, whereas now you tell me I’ve been getting the authentic as-American-as-apple-pie Yankee Doodle experience all along.
Well all I can say to that is “Gee Whizz!”
…and the thing that really bugs me is that it’s not like it’s hard to provide good quality customer service (and I hope I manage to) that makes people actually appreciate it, be thankful and want to recommend you to others. I always try to be polite and thankful where people make the effort with me: if you feel appreciated it makes you want to put that effort in again.
…and another thing that really bugs me is when I’m waiting in a shop to be served and the assistant is busy having a conversation about flossing her teeth or something that’s so much more important to her than serving the damn customer and keeps me waiting. And then they hold out their hand for the goods, or the card or whatever, without even having had the decency to break from their conversation to look at you or speak to you. My normal ploy is to pick up a leaflet or something from the counter and read that. Then when they make some comment about how much it is or whatever, I can tell them “no, that’s quite all right - I don’t mind waiting until you’re finished”.
mutter mutter grumble…
Mike Cherim responds:
Posted: November 13th, 2007 at 7:40 pm →
And here I was thinking that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence — hoping it was better in the UK. I guess crappy service in pandemic
bloggingzoom.com responds:
Posted: November 14th, 2007 at 8:14 am →
Doing Business Unto Others… - Beast-Blog.com…
Not all companies are like this, I know, but seeking a good purveyor of that which you want or need seems to be increasingly difficult nowadays. Consumers become acclimated to any given atmosphere over time, so slowly as the years progress, they can be…
Brenton Fletcher responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2007 at 7:20 am →
I just wanted to add that I have usually gotten acceptable customer services from McDonalds here in Australia, but they have the standard-issue teenager getting AU $10 or so an hour (a guess), of course. You do get the disintrest a lot - but I believe that mush of this blame is squarely on the shoulders of the fast-food/supermarket etc. companies. If I was getting such a crappy wage, I’d be disintrested too. Hopefully in the long term, these companies will realise that customer service is more important than saving a few $ an hour in wages.
Brenton Fletcher responds:
Posted: November 17th, 2007 at 7:24 am →
I just remembered - earlier today, I went to an IKEA for the first time, after hearing over a period of time about their unique philosophy. I have to say that the whole cheap but excellent philosphy carried through, right from going into the store (a store assistant - a teenager - actually greeted us.), to buying a meal at their restaurant/cafe (the food was very cheap, and you got unlimited refills of your soft drink for AU $1.50, and the cashier actually seemed happy). And the employee at the checkout was actually nice too! I reckon that IKEA has got the balance right in this case.