by John Paschall
What kind of customers do you have? On the surface that seems like a very simple question and one that is easily answered. You may answer by discussing the demographics of your target customer base – age, gender, profession, or you might just say: “We have the best customers in the world!” However the answer to that question goes much deeper into your philosophy of business and actually plays a critical role in the success or failure of your business.
A well-known theme in the study of human relationships is that you treat people exactly like you see those people. So in business, how do you see your customers? What kind of customers do you have? Do you have customers that give you opportunities each day to help them find solutions to their problems, answers to their questions, and fulfillment of their needs? Do you have customers that are worthy of your time, best effort and respect just because they have chosen to contact you? Or do you have customers that are greedy, disrespectful, and always trying to get more than they deserve? Do your customers increase your anxiety, cause interruptions in your day, and get in the way of getting things done?
I sit across the table from numerous businesses at the BBB that we have invited because we have seen an increasing pattern and volume of complaints from their consumers. Several times, those business owners have actually said to me: “Our consumers are idiots. They don’t read the contract and want refunds they don’t deserve. Why is it my fault that they can’t follow instructions?” Really? Really. Remember, you will treat people exactly like you see those people. So if you are talking to “idiots” each day and opening your doors to “idiots” all day long, and trying to solve the problems of “idiots” every day, how do you think you will treat those people each day? And with that treatment, do you think you will have more or fewer problems and complaints……AHA! Do you see why the question: What kind of customers you have is so critical?
Zig Ziglar, long-time motivational speaker, says that “You can have everything in life that you want, if you will help enough other people get what they want.” This works in business and in personal relationships as well. The focus, however, has to be on the other person not on you. It has to be a philosophy not a tactic.
The true story is told of a teacher who retired after a long and successful career. Ten years after retiring, the school district was forced to call her out of desperation to ask her if she would teach a group of students for the remainder of the year. This group had “run off” 6 teachers in the first six weeks of school with their terrible behavior and disrespectful attitude. The situation was out of control. The retired teacher agreed, but the school offered to place an aide or even an officer in the classroom due to the extreme nature of the situation. Having looked at the list of students, the teacher declined saying, “I love teaching and I can tell that we are going to have a great year.”
And that is exactly what happened. The class did have a wonderful year, and in fact, the teacher was voted Teacher of the Year! At the awards banquet, the administrators and dignitaries were singing the praises of this teacher and what a great job she had done. When the teacher received the award, she said: “I am so honored to receive this award, but I am terribly embarrassed. Anyone could have done what I did. When I looked at the list of students and saw their IQ’s, I just knew that I would not have any problems: Alice Anderson – 132, Bill Brooks – 125, Charlie Conners – 128…. This year was a piece of cake.” The principal, who was presenting the award whispered to her: “We never put students IQ’s on a list like that…..those must have been their locker numbers….” Can you imagine the surprise on the teacher’s face! True story!
What happened then? She saw the class as an intelligent above average group of students, treated them that way and the results that were achieved were far above average. So if you see all of your customers as intelligent and above average, and treat them that way, what kind of results will you achieve? More complaints or fewer complaints? Happy customers or angry customers? More business or less business?
In over 25 years of various customer service positions ranging from non-profit institutions with 2 employees to a Fortune 100 company with over 400,000 employees, I have found only 10 people on whom this philosophy did not positively impact. Honestly, I will take those odds any day. Try it out and let me know what happens.
Have a great day and keep building your “Better Business”!
