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Are YOUR customers YOUR business?
Customer support should be a high priority forany business, whether you are starting up oralready established. At MBP Advertising, ourmotto is "Our business IS our Customers."
Daily, we strive to show our customers thattheir concerns,...
CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE… OR DEATH?
This article explores the key to gaining and retaining customers.
I parked my car in the lot and began to walk away when I noticed a 4-5 inch cut in my tire. It was large enough and obvious enough to be noticed from several feet away with...
Does your company face a Triple-Threat that will cause the loss of your company's lifeblood - customers?
Does your company face a Triple-Threat that will cause the loss of your company's lifeblood - customers? See full color web version at: http://www.SeniorManagementServices.com/pvt-101-assets.html Be sure to renew your PVT subscription before March...
The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign
Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer's, so I'm the one who's always right. Sure, they can have an opinion, but in the end it's up to me to decide...
Training Your Customer Service Organization
According to a new survey carried out by Alliance & where ID_NUM=9270; Leicester, one in five small business owners view tax as their greatest concern. The Chancellor has announced in his last budget that companies with profits below œ10,000...
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Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Work Ethics and the Customer
This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It gives examples of how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. This competency covers a variety of topics like customer treatment, employee professionalism, and expected/acceptable organizational behaviors. At a high level, this competency will investigate the standards by which your employees treat your customers, co-workers, and the organization itself.
This short story, Work Ethics and the Customer, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It provides a view from the customer's side of the counter that might inspire you to rethink the old phrase "the customer is king".
Anonymous Submission
I work in a back office environment. The front lines of customer service are far away, so I don't think much about the ethical matters involved in providing good service.
All of that changed recently, when I found myself on the customer side of that check out terminal (formerly known as a cash register), and in dire need of help.
I was shopping for a USB computer keyboard to attach to my computer. I needed that type, and only that type, and I needed it that very day. I visited four different retail stores, all large chains, and had four noteworthy experiences that left me thinking about ethical behavior.
On he first visit, I asked an obviously available (he was playing a video game) sales person how I could tell the difference between PS2 and USB port keyboards as the display models cords were embedded into the rack. His response was -" I just know from working here". Okay. Not unethical, but not helpful either. Well, which one is cheapest, I asked. He showed me a $70 keyboard. I left the store.
At the next stop, I saw no keyboards, so asked a sales person (once she was off the
telephone making plans for the evening.) "Oh, she said, the only ones we have come with the computers." I thanked her and went home. The rest of this odyssey would have to wait.
At home, I called another chain store, navigated the voice mail, and asked the clerk if they had USB keyboards in the store and for the cost of the lowest priced model. After a quick click and a short silence, he told me of course, they are $24. Great, I was on my way. It was Saturday evening and the store was packed. I found the keyboard section, and stood there amazed. He had outright lied. The lowest priced model was $80. There was nothing remotely near $24. The few clerks on duty were swamped. I found one available in another department and told him about my situation. He was genuinely sympathetic and suggested that I visit the nearby superstore on the hill. I thanked him and left.
There my journey ended. I found my keyboard, after hours of searching, amid opened boxes (apparently some of them lied, too) in a crowded aisle in the electronics department of a store selling every product imaginable. I was exhausted. No wonder people shop online.
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© 2005 AlphaMeasure Employee Surveys, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes
the author bio information, and all links remain active.
------------------------------------------------------------- About the Author
Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys.
Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc.
AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.
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