WoW - Customer Service Is More Important Than Ever
There used to be a time when business owners thought the customer was nothing but a captive lackey that had no power because they were only purchasing goods and they had no control over what was offered, at what price, and at what time during the season. Because they couldn't control the inventory, customers were at the mercy of the business owner growing his bottom line.
Then times changed. Customers realized they had CONSIDERABLE power irrespective of the business owners location or bottom line. Customers became educated consumers and were willing to travel to get the products and services they wanted. They realized that their money was just that - their money - and they had the freedom to choose where to part with it. Because they couldn't control the inventory, customers realized that mobility and flexibility was a tool they could use to protect their bottom line. Businesses took notice and the customer, who had once been treated like a commerce slave, became King. The prevailing thought was that the customer - because they controlled their dollar (and subsequently the business owner's dollar) was "always" right. Business owners trained their staff to bend over backwards for the customer. Legend has it that Neiman Marcus (hailed for its absolute and total satisfaction customer service policy whether a receipt is provided or not), in fact, issued a total refund to a customer for tires he claimed he'd bought at the high-end clothing store even though everyone knew they didn't sell tires!
Then times changed. Again - as they often do. And now there is a sort of balance between business owners and customers. Knowledge is power. Customers and business owners know they need each other to survive - the relationship is not just about growing or protecting one bottom line over the other, but more like a beautifully balanced commerce dance where the business owner and customer give and take and both bottom lines are equally important. Businesses have to listen to customer needs because customers have the flexibility and mobility to choose to do business somewhere else. Customers have to cooperate with business owners and support their communities by communicating with business owners about their needs so they can be provided locally and efficiently.
Over the past several weeks I have been witnessing a troubling trend here in Auburn Gresham. Now that the Business Resource Network is up and running I have been getting a surprising number of complaints about customer service across industries. There are plenty of "Buy Black" and "Support Black Business" signs in windows in lots of small businesses across the community, but listen - why would anyone "Buy Black" or "Support Black Business" if they aren't getting at least a decent amount of customer service in return??? C'mon, let's get it together! Customers may no longer be Kings, but they aren't back to being consumer lackeys either. At the very MINIMUM we need to treat our customers with RESPECT. Save all the attitude, neck rolling, cursing, disrespect, and unprofessionalism for 'da club' which is where that kind of behavior belongs. If you are a business owner in Auburn Gresham - you need to make sure that your employees are putting their best foot forward for your company. If not, you need to 1) implement a customer service policy if you don't have one, 2) retrain your employees on your customer service policy if you do, and 3) make sure key points of your policy are displayed so your customers can see how serious you are about treating them they way they should be treated.
I'll tell you why it's so important. We want to ATTRACT business to Auburn Gresham. We don't want to feed into any negative stereotypes around here. We have too much to do and too much to change and too much to look forward to. The least you, as a business owner and a leader in the community, can do is make sure that your house is in order.
I was hot under the collar when a colleague told me his horror story dealing with a local dry cleaner. They took his clothing and his money and returned his clothing to him in the exact state that he'd brought the clothes to them. In other words - the clothes hadn't been cleaned at all. When he pointed out the fact that the clothes clearly hadn't been cleaned - the employee didn't deny it and didn't apologize for the mistake either. Nor was a refund offered, so my colleague asked for a refund, which was clearly in order. The employee said that they weren't going to issue a refund. And they didn't offer to take the clothes and clean them as they had been PAID to do. They actually violated their contract and terms of service with the client. Not to mention the place is a DRY CLEANERS that didn't clean (dry or otherwise) clothes that they had taken money for in good faith that they WOULD be cleaned. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE in Auburn Gresham. This community is about something. This community expects service, honesty, integrity, neutrality, and excellence, in the businesses that choose to set up shop here. Full stop. No excuses and no exceptions. Businesses that cannot live up to a basic standard of conduct and decency need to do business in a different community. All this is being said in passion and in love because the time for this nonsense is well played out.
We welcome any and all businesses that will honor this community and attract more business. In fact, the Business Resource Network is here to help the small business community make this transition from "business as usual" to "business unusual." We want to help you get from so-so to SO SO EXCELLENT. If you need retraining or need to retrain your staff - contact us. This can only be a win-win for you, your customers, and this community.
All businesses in Auburn Gresham should SHINE (promote Service, Honesty, Integrity, Neutrality, and Excellence). I'm just sayin. If your business is getting bad feedback, low customer retention, employee complaints, etc etc - maybe it's because you don't SHINE enough or you don't SHINE at all. And maybe we can help you with that.
SSA#32 Will be putting together a helpful "SSA#32 Good Business Guide" so we can all be on one accord when it comes to serving our wonderful community.