Customer Service is past its sell-by date: : Towards the Exemplary Customer Manifesto
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?EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
We in Customer Service, weary and exhausted, invite all Customers to the
EXEMPLARY CUSTOMER MANIFESTO
???Customer service is past its sell-by date.
(Like bell bottoms and b/w television)
????There are TONS of Customer Service training programs. 7,700,000,000 Hits.
(“How to be a good Customer” has just 6.5 Google hits. Yes 6.5! How?)
??????We are tired of delivering customer service to boring customers.
(We want to be energized by Great Customers.)
???????To inspire tired/bored/jaded marketers, customers need to learn
(Research product information the way you do for price)
???????If you want to be treated like royalty, behave like royalty
(Yes, Yes, The Customer is King; we have heard that before, rarely seen one, though)
???????Lo-Price/Exceptional Service: Choose One.
(There is no such thing as Free Customer Delight – someone has to pay for it).
???????Our staff are worn out from Emotional Labour expectations
(We show delight, smile and all, when you walk into our restaurant/plane? You don't even cursorily nod an acknowledgment)?
????????You spend so much time and energy complaining.
(How much do you spend in praise)
?????????I have heard you say you are so disappointed you will tell everybody.
(I never heard you say you are so happy you will tell everybody)
??????????Customer service is my part of the deal. Ok.
(How come gracious Feedback (forms) is not part of yours?)
?????????? Only diamonds are forever
(Products die. Need maintenance. Have a price-performance ratio.)
??????????? You are #1 out of the 10000000 customers we have.
(Do not act like one. Prove it through how wonderful, gracious, and polite you are; we will come with our tails wagging. Promise!)
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????????????We have been taught customer service, CRM, customer focus, customer centricity...
(What about you?)
??????????? We have rules and lines we cannot cross. No matter what.
(You? Volume? Language? Queueing? Graciousness? Hello..anybody there?)
????????????This is our business. We do it every day. Hundreds of times.
(What makes you want to teach us via ‘This is not the way.’ If you want to tell us about Businesses better than ours, we also have examples of customers….)
??????????? We have tons of people who know their onions. This IS our business.
(How do YOU decide the ‘final’ price? This is the first time in your life you are buying curtains or fire extinguishers or whatever. Btw have you ever heard of anchor price?
????????????Of course, we can offer customized solutions. Pay for them, please.
(You get what you pay for – Really. Look around)
????????????The people who attend to you are just trying to make a living. They would rather be somewhere else.
(Be kind to Boundary spanners. The people across the counter. They are human beings, too – working odd hours and are not allowed to retaliate. Once more- be kind)
?????????????Read T & C. They are there for a reason
(You want an explanation?!!! That’s why there are T&Cs)
?????????????Caveat Emptor-Let the buyer Beware has been there since Roman Times
(Yes, we know all the terms: Buyer’s Remorse and post-purchase dissonance… which is why you should spend more time figuring out why you want to buy, how you will use it, etc….and less on fighting for price. And yes, there are specifications, too. And Instruction Manuals)
????????????? Ahh, price. Yes, Price. It's always too much.
(What can we do? We need to make a living, too)
?????????????Freebies, everyone loves freebies
(So do we. When was the last time you added an extra amount to your payment?! Dhaniya/Mirchi is free; I wish I could charge for that, too)
????????????? Altruism is human. Do not exploit it. It spoils it for others
(Miracles. Some passengers who ‘wheelchair’ throughout their transatlantic flights and transfers, suddenly metamorphose into Savannah Gazelles when they land on home ground)
????????????? And you are a Marketer too, selling to someone. Why, then, do you change dramatically when you become a buyer?
(Have mercy, a sense of humor, and remember what goes around, comes around)
UNABRIDGED VERSION
You are now an Exemplary Customer. You don't need an unabridged version!!!
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S. Ram Kumar is a B-School Professor, Author, Speaker, Agent-Provocateur, Unicyclist, Woodworker and Stonemason [email protected]
This approach flips business logic on its head! Not a surprise coming from you. It's a rule! One of the areas it may be applicable is in delivery of services. The provider probably will use the customer royalty status as a pecking order for deploying their best resources than customer profitability!
An awesome crisp read. Wonderful turning the tables on the customer. The end (unabridged) was priceless. Reminds me of a blog I had written in 2008 (really?) titled 'Is Customer Really the King?' You'd be amazed at some of the similarities, sir. https://kamfucious.blogspot.com/2008/08/is-customer-really-king.html P.S. If I wrote this blog today, I would write it differently. :)
Digital Transformation | Brand Management | Corporate Communications | Content Marketing & Strategy | Product Marketing
6 个月A refreshing perspective? But how do we create these empathetic and cultured customers ? Customer is king ?? is now gone into everyone’s head. And then there is hyper competition and brands willing to bend over backwards to win every battle, no wonder there are quite a few who feel entitled to behave the way they want to.
Chief Marketing Officer @ Cyient | Harvard Business School Executive Education | Startup Mentor | Serial B2B Global Top 100 CMO Winner
6 个月Brutally spot on !
General Manager | Storyteller | Advisor
6 个月Wow!! Prof S. Ram Kumar - the provocation is overwhelming. We forget that the concept of managers and leaders earning more than a dime came as we needed someone to manage the exceptions when something went wrong! A outcome of imperfectly perfect world. if we start complaining and whining about every wrong as a consumers then I presume we ourselves are employed in a perfect world! The swing of the pendulum touches both extremes ????!