When Did the Customer Become THE PROBLEM?
Hank Boyer
Executive Coaching | Strategic Planning | Leadership | EQ | Engagement & Retention | B2B & B2C Sales | Assessments | DISC | Hiring/Onboarding | Career Coach | Talent Development | Management Training | Behavioral Science
Our server brought back the check and credit card slip for my signature. “Thank you” I said. “It was a good meal and I really appreciated your service” “No problem!” he replied, and I’m thinking, “Huh? Were all the customers tonight thought to be a problem, or just us?”
Apparently I am a problem. And so are you. Let me explain.
Mary, my bride of 38 years, and I were coming off a very busy work week, and since neither of us felt like cooking, we decided on a rare treat, uber-fresh fish at the always-busy Bonefish Grille over by the biggest mall in the area. Service was good despite the crowd, the food was hot and delicious, and it was delivered with a smile, so I felt generous with the tip when the check came.
Our server brought back the check and credit card slip for my signature. “Thank you,” I said. “It was a good meal and I really appreciated your service.” “No problem!” he replied, and I’m thinking, “Huh? Were all the customers tonight expected to be a problem, or just us?”
Whatever happened to a heart-felt, “you’re welcome?” When did the customer become the problem?
Mary was the first one to point this out to me, this unholy substitute of “no problem” for “you’re welcome.” She’s faster with these things than I am, but she’s absolutely right. To say no problem in response to a thank you says that the other person expected you to be a problem. And because you apparently weren’t the big problem he or she thought you’d be, he or she can now declare you to not be a problem after you thanked them and helped them pay the rent this month by your patronage.
To say no problem in response to a thank you says that the other person expected you to be a problem.
Is that what it’s come down to…customers are the problem?
Pay attention this next week for how many times you say thank you to someone and he or she says, “no problem.”
So what happens when the seller creates the problem? If what happened earlier in the day is any indication, the customer is still the problem. We were out doing some Saturday afternoon shopping and stopped in to the local Acme market. I’d received a flyer in the morning’s mail stating an unbelievably low $3.99/pound promotion with coupon on prime rib. Acme has an excellent cut of meat, so we decided to stop. The coupon stated a $25.00 purchase had to be made in addition to the prime rib, in order to get the sale price.
Since we were going to a party, I placed a 12-pack of gourmet beer and a bottle of wine into our cart, plus a bag of potatoes for us, and a 9 pound prime rib into the cart and joined a 4-deep checkout line. When I got to the cashier, I was told that alcohol had to be purchased in another line, but they could ring through all the items I had in my cart over there. So I moved to the other line and waited my turn. When the cashier rung me up, she curtly informed me that he could not accept the coupon.
“Why not?” I asked. “Because it is alcohol,” she replied. So I said, “Your coupon says nothing about that…was there a sign I missed?” Annoyed with my question, she countered, “Nope, it’s alcohol, and you are right, the coupon says nothing about alcohol not counting towards the $25.00 purchase.” The she added, a bit annoyed, “Nothing I can do for you. If you want to talk to a manager, take your stuff and go over there,” she pointed. Apparently I was the problem, not the failure of the store to get their promotions clearly spelled out.
No offer to call a manager.
No apology.
Just a stupid problem customer and thinly disguised contempt for all the people who keep retailers, restaurants, and solution providers in business. The customer.
Acme Markets is one of the grocery chains that make up the $60B Albertson’s family of companies. They are relentless advertisers. I wonder how much money they lose on customer-unfriendly tactics like the ones I described. Bonefish Grill is owned by the $4.3B holding company Bloomin’ Brands (Carabba’s, Outback, Flemming’s, and Bonefish). Another voracious advertiser who needs to teach its staff to avoid saying things that suggest the customer is the problem.
Bottom Line
Tom Peters told the world about sellers who had thinly disguised contempt for customer in his bestselling books In Search of Excellence and A Passion for Excellence. I quote from A Passion for Excellence, page 50: “…TDC – Thinly Disguised Contempt for the customer…It’s the biggest barrier to sustainable superior performance - in hospitals, schools, banks, among retailers and manufacturing companies.”
You and I do have a choice of where you spend our money. And when we do, we don’t want to ever be made out to be the problem.
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6 年A great read. I could not have said it any better. #letsraisethebar
Herzing University - Madison Campus
6 年I agree with you Lyn Jacobs, I don't find the response "no Problem" offensive at all. However, my place of business encourages us to say "my pleasure", but either response works for me as long as it is given with kindness.
Experienced Executive/GM, People ?? ?? Transform HR Lead Ambassador SA | CHRO, In2Future | Organisational Design including post M&A | Organisational performance, innovation and transformation strategies
6 年Interesting that you are offended by that. Perhaps it's a cultural thing (I am assuming this was in the US)? It is a common response in English speaking countries with the younger staff. It would not be interpreted as inferring that the customer was expected to be a problem. It's more a 'no problem - just doing my job' kind of response, downplaying what they did (ie he didn't really go out of his way). Unless you were in a 5 star type establishment, I think it's ok. Perhaps it's a reflection of the tipping system in the USA which makes every customer assess each aspect of their food experience before deciding what to pay? Or perhaps a reflection of the difference in each generation's speech patterns - after all, language is certainly becoming more loose! A 'near enough is good enough' approach to pronounciation, word use and syntax is becoming common. Whateverthe reason, an interesting post Hank. Thank you. As an aside, I lived in USA for months and rarely heard anyone say 'you're welcome' in answer to thankyou. The most common response was either silence or 'sure'.
Co-Founder at WOOTTEN & SOMMERS
6 年Thank you, Hank. The "no problem" line is one of my pet peeves. Only slightly more irritating, is being addressed as "you guys" when being served in a restaurant or assisted in a store. I realise that this comes under the heading of "first world problems" but as you point out, there is power in where we spend our money.? Merci!
Director of Technology with a bent toward strategic and tactical live webcasting, video production planning & support. Also, Manager at SMPTE Philadelphia Section.
6 年Yes, we lose focus on serving customers is how businesses stay in business. Great reminder!