Is The Customer ALWAYS Right? - True Tales from the Trenches, #1
"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."
- Bill Gates -
I've been selling products and ideas since I was a child.
It has been a struggle, and not (yet) what you could call a great success.
Nonetheless, along the way I've learned a bit about customer service.
I've been selling since I was a child.
Image courtesy of Charles Thompson and http://pixabay.com
In my book, there is only one way to treat a customer.
Customers are always right, even when they are wrong.
"How's that working out for you," I can almost hear you ask?
Let me tell you the first in a series of customer service stories.
In the early days of the home computer revolution, I wrote and sold utility software programs for the Apple ][ computer.
While my enterprise was not a great financial success, I had a small but fairly steady flow of orders, and a lot of happy customers.
Then one day I received this letter:
Note: I'm paraphrasing the letters below from memory.
To Whom It May Concern:
I've seen your advertisement for an Apple ][ disk backup utility.
How do I know that you're not some "fly-by-night" operator, waiting to take my money without sending me anything in return?
And even if you do send something, what assurance do I have that your product will work at all?
Signed,
- John Q. Smith
I'll be the first to admit it.
Receiving hostile and antagonistic communications from a customer is no picnic.
Letters like this — and sometimes far worse! — can be emotionally draining.
At times, customer correspondence is no picnic.
Image courtesy of Gerhard Gellinger and http://pixabay.com
After working your heart out to conceive of, create, develop, package, and release a product characterized by excellence, it can be disheartening to deal with difficult customers.
Nevertheless, I can tell you that I have never regretted the conscious decision to always treat my customers with the greatest respect.
By giving customers every benefit of every doubt, I maximize the chances of maintaining and increasing good will.
The old adage "The customer is always right" is an excellent starting place. My experience with customers, although not always pleasant, has reinforced the truth of that saying.
Watch and learn.
Here is the letter I sent back to my "potential" customer.
Dear Mr. Smith,
Thank You very much for contacting us about our Apple ][ disk backup utility.
You've asked how you can know that we're not a "fly-by-night" operator?
This is how you can know:
Enclosed please find a copy of the latest version of our Apple ][ disk backup utility.
As you may know, items sent via the U.S. Postal Service that were not solicited are legally considered to be a gift. Therefore, you can treat this as such, and you need not send us any payment.
As for assurance that our product works as advertised, we hope you will try it and see for yourself. We strive to create software of excellence, and as we hope you can now better see, we have great confidence in all of our products.
Thank you again for your interest in our software.
Signed,
- @creatr
~Agorist Software Enterprises~
What was the outcome?
This particular customer sent back a gushing letter, expressing his amazement at how we had treated him. Not only did he enclose a check in full payment for the product that we had sent him "on spec," but he ordered a companion product as well.
Furthermore, he told all his friends and neighbors about us, and we received several more orders as a result of our pro-active version of customer service.
And what was our risk?
Our downside risk was very small. As you may know, software can be a very high markup product. Our actual out-of-pocket costs were a mere two or three dollars, if that, at the time.
The outcome for our reputation was priceless.
You can't buy good will like that, not at any price.
Do you have an enterprise?
Let me know if you'd like to hear more "True Tales from the Trenches."
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~FIN~
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I loved this! We hear the customer is always right, but boy is that difficult to swallow when some customers act wretched. Your example from the trenches is a perfect example for application. You da man! :)
Thanks, Lydon.
If I continue this series, I have one or two real horror stories to share! But I still believe in the principle... ;)
Haha, there are always horror stories - the Lord keeps things interesting for us with those people. ;)
That was indeed a great answer :) It just shows that if you treat people with respect, they are disarmed and (most of the time) respect is returned. Reminds me my time in customer service for a "fruit based logo company" where the bad tempered requests and emails were flowing all day haha
Thank you so much, friend @herverisson, for your encouraging comments. Also for sharing a bit of your experience. ;)
Wonderful anecdote! I think what people really want most is simply to feel cared about and to be treated like human beings. I agree that taking a 'customer is always right' approach is the best. Sure there are a few scammers who try to take advantage of this, but they're easy enough to spot after a while, and it's a small price to pay to keep legitimate customers happy. Remembering that people just want to feel cared about, and then showing that you sincerely care is the key to creating loyal customers who will, likely tell all their friends. Thanks for sharing this experience. I think it's especially important now with so many people entering into freelance or entrepreneurial work.
Thanks for your comprehensive comments.
In my sometimes not so humble opinion, dealing with the very few scammers is a small price to pay for overall excellence in customer service.
just recently I was taking estimates for some concrete work to be done on my house. The estimator who came out told me frankly that the minimum his firm would charge would be twice what the job was worth. He then went on to give me invaluable advice about materials, specifications, what to insist be put in writing and how to structure cash advances so I wouldn't fall victim to an unscrupulous contractor. I asked him why he was so forthright and he said, "I'm a human being too. Maybe you'll remember me if you have a bigger job or will recommend me to a neighbour." Needless to say, I will.
Very cool. We had similar experiences with a termite inspector and an air conditioning guy. Unfortunately, we never had any follow-up business for them, but hey, they are definitely running their operations the right way, and I'm sure that it pays off for them.
This is a great answer and shows that others respect u by ur good will and by ur respect, a great lessontaken.
Thanks! :D
Upvoted and also resteemed :)
Hello, @flowerlover,
Thank you kindly for re-steeming my article. I appreciate it!
Loved that story. Would like to add I worked in corporate sales for a long time which is kind of ironic if you know me. You see, I never wanted to be known as a 'sales rep'. Anyway, I was fairly successful, not because I could follow a sales call script or list three counters to objections, but because I approached every manager or CEO as a potential friend, instead of a potential sale. My call notes were a nightmare, time management was a joke and my presentation just a little eccentric. However, my territory was full of 'buddies' who knew I would stand up for and back them if our services failed (like friends) do and they rewarded me with their time (which is tough to get) and their business. Once you strip away the outside (corner office, personal assistant, etc) we are pretty much all that same kid who used to enjoy skipping stones and telling scary stories around the campfire. And yeah, I made it into management...
Hi, friend @swansed,
I'm glad you enjoyed my story. I enjoyed reading your account of building relationships in your sales career. Thanks for sharing!
I make my living as a certain type of freelancer and I find myself talking to customers quite extensively and it can indeed be a bit draining. But I try to always be polite and honest.
I never promise things I'm not sure I can deliver and I sometimes deliberately set the customer's expectations lower than what I think I can actually achieve, so they often feel like I have overdelivered by a wide margin.
I notice that one of the things that inspire a lot of confidence and that has helped me close many deals is the fact that I'm very open about my limitations, about risks and caveats connected to using my services and about my own expectations and the role I expect the customer to play in the process.
Great observations... Illustrative of another old saw: "Honesty is the best policy." ;)
Thanks for sharing your insights, Dave!
that was quite the story. Yes I too believe that customers are always right and even when they are not they are. As a pianist in the fine dining industry I quickly learned to think of them as guests rather than customers. They are my boss and they pay my bills. They taught us to bend over backwards and go the extra mile for them. One positive is that when you are self-employed or have your own company, if you loose one client, you still have others. It is not like being fired from the company. in that respect you have a bit more job security. Thanks for the great read my friend. - Troy
I'm glad to hear that you "get it," Troy. Yes, they do pay our bills. And there is safety in numbers! :D
Thanks for relating this story. I have a similar outlook though I never really considered it to be a"customer's always right" philosophy.
I opened up a small business last year selling treats at festivals and events. A lot of my business is generated from sampling. Family and friends sometimes help us pass out samples. At the last show, a friend who happened to stop by grabbed a sample tray and started handing out samples. She came up to me and said she didn't want to hand samples to people that looked like they couldn't afford our product. I told her to please offer a sample to everybody.
Later, I was talking to my 9 year old daughter who loves to sample with me, and I told her this:
Even though sampling helps us sell stuff, your job when sampling is not to sell. We offer our sample as a show of good will. I want to offer that good will to everybody. So your job is to smile and offer everyone a taste. Don't be upset if they don't accept it. Don't try to convince them to buy it. I want every interaction with our business to be a positive one.
That positive attitude sounds like precisely the right approach in the realm of "treat selling."
Recasting what you've just said so sweetly, you are treating all of the people at your venue with grace and respect. You reach out to them with a free offer of good will, expecting nothing in return. Any positive responses you receive are completely voluntary.
IMHO, you've described the only way to do business. Thanks so much for sharing your excellent story!
May I suggest that you write this up as an article for your blog? And ask you to please, let me know when you do? ;)
😄😇😄
You know, you're right. I've been trying to figure out some good material to start blogging about my business. This is probably a good place to start.