What Do You Really Know About Your Company?
Harrison Greene
Helping Sales Organizations Prepare Today for the Future of Sales Tomorrow
The recent debacle at United Airlines caused me to wonder if company leaders really know what is going on within their company, with their employees, and most of all with their customers.
I recently called one of the premier tourist parks in Orlando at 9:00 PM during a weeknight to get some information about rates for 5 adults and 2 children to visit and stay in one of their hotels at the park for a week.
After waiting for on hold for 42 minutes, I was greeted by an agent who seemed to be in a trance about giving me information. After explaining what kind of a package I needed, the agent quoted me a price of $17,460 that included a 2 bedroom suite and passes for everyone to the park with dinner every night.
I further investigated on the parks web site and found that the price the agent gave me was not correct. So, it seems that this “premier” park has a multiplicity of prices and quotes depending on to whom you speak or what you can research.
This type of situation happens frequently at most companies. I think that a strong contributory reason is simply those top executives seldom actually check what their employees are doing. They seem to rely on the managers who are in charge ensure quality.
If you are a senior manager or C-suite executive ask yourself:
· When was the last time (if ever) that you called your main switchboard and asked to be connected to someone? You probably received a voice menu. Did you try it?
· When was the last time (if ever) that you called the sales department to get information about your products/services?
· If you are an airline executive or CEO when is the last time you went on-line, purchased a ticket on your airline, waited in line at the gate, and actually flew coach/economy?
· If your company has an online order functionality, when is the last time you sat at home and ordered something from your web-site.
In short when is the last time you actually checked on what you think is being experienced by your staff, your employees, and especially, with your customers?
Give it a try. You might wonder why people want to do business with your company.
Helping Sales Organizations Prepare Today for the Future of Sales Tomorrow
7 年Yep, it starts at the top. Most CEO would fire someone if they called their main number.
Administration Professional, Property Manager, Marketing and Design
7 年Well said, there needs to be checks to ensure quality service. Customer service has gone so far downhill, you need hours of time and much patience to even call a company to request help or purchase their product, it's time for an overhaul!
Founder & President, Venmark International, Author
7 年Spot on, Harrison. I recently went through an exercise in changing a key vendor and was amazed by the cavalier attitudes I encountered. Mostly by millenials. I surmised that talking with entry-level sales people (Whoops! "Customer Acquisition Specialists") was standard operating procedure. My frustration was that none of them could make a decision without seeking approval. The experience was like purchasing a car. You never got to speak with a real decision-maker. Perhaps it is because these young people don't want to take responsibility? Or maybe their companies' don't trust them to? Whatever the case, I'd like to see how one of their executives would react to the vague answers and simply inaccurate responses I received??? I hate to sound like an old-timer, but it was a lot different in the button-down shirt and tie days when there appeared to be a limited number of prospects and, therefore, each prospective customer was more valuable...