These were the ten words screaming at me in the headline from a Sunday Edition of The New York Times.
This type of article should not have to be written…but companies, people, employers, and employees just don’t seem to grasp the meaning of this “Business Thing.” It isn’t about you. It never was about you. It never will be about you. IT IS ALL ABOUT ME…THE CUSTOMER.
As a speaker who gets paid to talk (Yes, you heard me right) for the past twenty years, I sometimes bore myself to tears when I get on the subject of customer service. Imagine that? Paying somebody to remind you that it is not nice to bite the hand that feeds you.
And with telephones, cell phones, beepers, tablets, iPods, and every other type of communication device known to man, coupled with the marketing expense, advertising expense, consulting expense, lawyer’s expense and every other expense it takes to keep you in business, I humbly remind you that the next time a customer takes the initiative to call, it just might be a good idea to (1) answer the call, and (2) pretend that you are happy the wallet-carrying customer did so. (89 words in that last sentence. I am checking now, but this may very well be another Olympic World’s Record.)
Then, (and you can use your own imagination on this one) do or say something to make the caller glad they got you on the line.
Here are a few sound bites from the article:
- “I’m not anti-computer. I’m not anti-capitalist. I am anti-arrogance.”
- It would be funny if it wasn’t so depressing.
- Memo to corner office: Answer the phone!
- Incoming calls are routed easily and directly.
And here is a line that I have been saying for twenty years. Why doesn’t anybody ever listen to me?
“Anything a company does to make its products and services a little more engaging and easier to digest, will pay big dividends. Anything like, say, answering the phone or returning emails promptly.”
Mike Marchev has plenty of stories, strategies and tactics to keep you on top of your game.
For information on Mike’s 6-Week Online Selling Course, email Mike at mike@mikemarchev.com with the words “sales course” in the subject box.
Mike’s daily column is made possible by AmaWaterways.
