When I was in high-school, working at the supermarket, I was told that the customer is always right. “Even if the customer is wrong, the customer is right,” the trainer told me.
Where did customer service go?
How many of you have stories of mistreatment from cell phone companies?
How many of you are sick of scripted, thoughtless customer service from computer manufacturers and software companies?
How many of you have been let down by your cable, phone or satellite provider?
The customer, apparently, is no longer right. In fact, the customer doesn’t even have a say at all anymore.
Think You Have a Product?
I had my first job before I was legally able to have a job. And I remember one of the receptionists having an argument with a co-worker. When the phone rang during the argument, she picked up the receiver and her demeanor changed immediately. She smiled and became FRIENDLY.
She was speaking to a customer, you see.
I asked her about it afterward. How could she be so angry one moment, then just switch it off the next.
Because, she explained, what happens in the office has nothing to do with the customer. The customer doesn’t need to be burdened with the company’s problems. We want the customer to be happy.
I miss those days.
But that moment I always took with me. When I began developing software I always considered that I was building something that would make my clients happy. It would solve their problems and service their needs. And if they needed help afterwards, I would provide it, happily. Even if I was in a bad mood.
I was providing a service, not a product.
There Is No Product
Any software application I designed, I would work with the client to determine what they wanted to accomplish, and I would deliver a product that did exactly that.
If they decided they wanted a change, I didn’t grumble and complain, I just did it.
That doesn’t mean I let them take advantage of me. I charged for my services, but gave what was requested.
That said, if I voluntarily gave more, I didn’t expect extra payment for it. I often did get extra loyalty, though.
Long after I completed the software, it continued to service the needs of my customers. If they had a problem with it, I fixed it. I didn’t try to blame them. I didn’t tell them the problem was their operating system or some other conflicting software. I didn’t send them away or tell them its not MY problem.
I gave them service. I solved their problems. I worked within THEIR needs.
It’s ALL Service
People only buy products to fill a need for service.
A car provides the service of independent transportation. A house provides shelter. A computer provides communication, information storage and analysis. TV and radio provide entertainment. A cell phone connects us to family, friends and colleagues.
All of these products provide a service.
In other words, the service does NOT END with the SALE.
Yet this seems to be the trend lately.
Companies give the cheapest customer service possible. They rope customers into contracts (a product) and don’t let them get away (without a PENALTY).
Cell phone companies are notorious for this. They tell you that they can’t help you because of the contract you were sold. They shrug their shoulders and tell you that you can leave if you pay a penalty.
Thanks for being a customer. Hang on while I kick your ass out the door. Tell your friends they better not screw with us like you did, Mr. Customer, or we’ll kick them HARDER!
I was a customer with my satellite provide nearly 10 years. When I wanted to upgrade to HD service, I was told I would have to pony up nearly $800 for new equipment.
Yet they were offering the same equipment to new customers for FREE!
Thanks for being a loyal customer, but you bought our equipment and contract (both products) so there is nothing more we need to do for you. If you’d like to leave, you won’t hurt our feelings. We’ve got TONS of other customers!
So I left.
They’ve been sending me all sorts of offers now. But I refuse to go back to them.
What About YOUR Business?
So you have a new retail customer. Do you tell them to call the company headquarters when they need help placing an order or have a question about a product? Do you ignore their emails and call them “stupid” under your breath?
So, you signed up a new distributor into your network marketing opportunity. Are you shunning their calls for help? Are you passing them off to your upline because you don’t want to deal with them anymore? After all they bought the business kit (a product), you don’t owe them anything else, right? It’s all “in the box.”
Silly.
Yet people do it.
I’ve seen it, and I’ve been a victim of it.
It’s about service. It’s about helping people get what they want. It’s not about selling them a product and forgetting about them. It’s not about penalizing them if they purchase something and then decide it doesn’t serve their needs and they want their money back.
Give them their money back. With a SMILE.
Word gets around about companies, and about YOU.
I hear you Jason.
Think verb (service) instead of noun (product) since the product does something. It performs a fuction which is intended to help.
Thanks for sharing your insight. I’ll keep this in mind with my current venture.
Service is a verb, and that’s what you sell: action. That’s a great way of thinking about it, Ryan!