Dear Jessica Brennan,
Once I had a conversation with a bored 16 year old girl at a fast food restaurant, about how when she took my money for a cup of tea, we actually entered into a contract that required her to smile and direct me to the milk I needed to complete the transaction, rather than pointing into space and mumbling, “It’s over there”. I say we had a conversation, but I don’t think she was actually in it, so maybe in truth it was a lecture. Her eye-rolling gave it away, and that contract was never satisfactorily fulfilled.
I read on the internet, (so it is true), that there is a 14 times greater chance of selling to a happy, existing customer than to a new customer. Wow, that information might be important to someone who gave a hoot about Customer Service.
To my simple mind, by virtue of the moniker Customer Service, one as a customer might expect, well, service.
According to the Harvard Business Review, delivering great, meaningful and robust customer experiences reduces the cost of doing business because you eliminate the need to deal with endless complaints. That makes sense, plus, I could be wrong, but I think at one point in my life I remember a time when you were pleasant and attentive because that’s who you wanted to be, not just because someone wrote it in your job description. I may be mistaken.
How many times have you walked into a shop and either been snubbed to death by a haughty clerk, or totally ignored by the associate who is too busy texting their friend?
In the words of the ever-wise Edina Monsoon from Absolutely Fabulous – “You only work in a shop you know, you can drop the attitude.”
Alternatively, how many of us shop at a local store or restaurant even though we could order online, because we like the service and know the owner and feel seen when we walk in the door?
One thing I love about Amazon Prime, (apart from the fact that the delivery guy is standing at my front door with my package just before I order it), is that their e-commerce site never ignores me. It greets me by name, gives me suggestions, thanks me, and efficiently checks my purchase out.
There are lots of tools online that companies can use to calculate the financial value of their customers. Yes you read that right – apparently a calculator determines our worth. Also, even more shocking is you can find a device to determine the financial value of your employees. Human capital they call it. People monetized.
So once more, it is all about the short-sighted goal of money made in the now, not building for longevity. We’ve seen it time and again.
Am I the only one who thinks that 1) the fact that a 16 year old just entering the workforce is called “Human Capital” rather than “Sally”, and 2) I as the customer, am being assessed by what I bring to the corporation rather than what the company can give me for my hard-earned money, might be at least two reasons why bricks and mortar are becoming dust, and e-commerce is thriving?
If I was of value rather than just being a value I might, close my laptop, get out of my pajamas and drive to your store. If Sally was more than just an employee-number associated with a value, and was of value to the corporation, she might even put the milk in my tea for me, and I just might come back again.
Crazy talk, I know.
Love,
Mum xo
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