The 4,000 year-old customer complaint letter you need to read...

Hello, and Happy Tuesday!

This morning I’m coming to you live from St. Louis, where I’m about to speak onstage to my new friends at True Independent Holdings. Last night, in addition to seeing Jupiter make its closest appearance in 60 years (from the Arch, no less!), I had the pleasure of catching up with one of my very favorite people: Shep Hyken!

Shep is a brilliant, Hall of Fame speaker and the author of many of my favorite books on CX and customer service. I’ve been his superfan for years (long before I tricked him into becoming my friend!), so I was beyond thrilled when he generously agreed to write the foreword to my book.

Last night at dinner, Shep and I were talking about how next week is Customer Service Week — and next Tuesday, October 5, is CX Day! We’ll both be sharing lots of fun content on socials next week (if you don’t already follow Shep, make sure to do so!). The lead up to Customer Service Week also seemed like the perfect time to share part of Shep’s foreword. Enjoy!

Here’s to good friends!

Brittany

Same Ol’ Situation

Some things in this world are timeless. Expressions like love, music, and storytelling were essential long before any of us were born and will be part of humanity’s collective existence forever.

I met Brittany a few years ago when she spoke to my Entrepreneurs’ Organization chapter in Saint Louis and I immediately knew that she “got it.” We quickly bonded over our shared love of creating amazing customer experiences. Brittany knows that the importance of customer experience can be traced all the way back to the days of the Old Testament.

Tucked away in the British Museum is a customer complaint letter carved in Akkadian cuneiform that dates to 1750 BCE. It was written by an unsatisfied copper ore customer named Nanni to his supplier, Ea-nasir. The tablet hints that it was not the first correspondence between the two. It reads:

What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt? I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves to collect the bag with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them back to me empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory. Is there anyone among the merchants who trade with Telmun who has treated me in this way? . . . I shall exercise against you my right of rejection because you have treated me with contempt.

Yikes! That’s a lot of contempt.

If you’ll give me a little creative license, I’d like to put together a short mashup of Nanni’s letter and a modern-day version of what some companies deem (unfortunately) to be an acceptable customer experience:

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Nanni walks up to the customer service window and puts the product he was shipped down on the counter.

“I received these copper ingots, but they aren’t at all like the ones the salesman showed me,” Nanni explains calmly.

“Do you have your original receipt or purchase order?” the customer service representative asks.

“Uh, no.”

“Then take this clay tablet and bone stylus, sit down over there and cuneiform down all the details.”

“Could you just get my rep? It’s Ea-nasir. I think he’ll be able to straighten this out. I’ve traveled through a war zone to get here, and I’d really like to take care of this quickly.”

“He’s away on business, but I’ll see what I can do,” the rep says. She walks to a back room, where she stands around for a few minutes. Eventually, she returns to the counter.

“The best thing is for you to just fill out the clay tablet. We will review your case and get back to you as soon as the war is over. Next!”

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The issues that upset Nanni almost 4,000 years ago are the same ones that irk customers today.

The product he received did not meet his expectations. He sought resolution to his problem several times (including sending messengers through a war zone to ask for a refund!). Had Ea-nasir Fine Copper set things right the first time, the British Museum wouldn’t have this interesting artifact to display. The relationship between this buyer and seller would have been quickly restored.

Instead, their relationship is poisoned. Trust and confidence have deteriorated to the point that Nanni will certainly have his eyes open for a new supplier—and will very likely tell his friends and neighbors to do the same.

The best and most-loved brands and businesses understand that human desires are the same now as they were in Nanni’s day. Except now, the Nannis of the world aren’t chiseling their complaints into clay tablets and sending messengers across the desert on camels—they’re sharing them on social media and in other public forums that potential customers all around the world can see in real time.

Any customer’s feedback, good or bad, can go viral at any moment. One present-day Nanni can shape the perception that millions of people have of you or your business. Even the opinions that don’t go viral play a role in whether potential customers will be lining up to do business with you or running in the opposite direction.

Customer experience is timeless, but it’s never been timelier. High expectations are the rule, not the exception. It’s never been easier for a competitor to tempt your customers with a promise of a better service experience. Regardless of the field you’re in, you won’t find long-term success without prioritizing your customers . . . period.

You can preorder Creating Superfans here.

“Every time a customer shares feedback with you, consider it an opportunity to create a disruptive market advantage over your competition.” - Shep Hyken

Have a great week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!