the customer matters

Customers May Not Always Be Right But they Always Matter

I sometimes say to people that professionalism is a lost art and I mean it. From the artisan who collects a full or part payment for his services and absconds or delivers shoddy or incomplete work, to the customer care rep at a bank, telecommunications outfit and even a teacher who does not care to do their job right and only looks forward to a salary at the end of the month.

This is not to say that there are no professionals out there who take their jobs seriously and do the best they can. There will always be such persons. I am merely making a point that there is this set of people who are the exact opposite of this.

Sadly, as is the case in virtually all aspects of life, the actions of certain people tend to colour that of the majority. As a result, people spend more time talking about the bad eggs and what they have done wrong, making it seem that the good ones are none existent or very few in number to actually matter or make a difference. There is not much anyone can do about this except ensure that you are not one of the bad eggs.

Ensure that in your sphere you deal with people with the utmost respect, courtesy and professionalism. Listen, communicate properly and when due, offer explanations and apologies when necessary and always give the best of your ability. This is one sure way to help your business/brand grow. No one can do the opposite and not expect blowbacks.

 

…people spend more time talking about the bad eggs and what they have done wrong, making it seem that the good ones are none existent or very few in number to actually matter or make a difference. There is not much anyone can do about this except ensure that you are not one of the bad eggs.

 

Even on social media, you must do the same. In fact, I could say it is more important as written down responses are easier to misconstrue than a face to face talk or a conversation over the phone.

I once cut off a potential printer online because rather than proffer a solution and offer his services to my dilemma, he proceeded to condescendingly accuse me on meeting the wrong printers and accused me of not knowing what I was talking about, even when I had clearly stated the number of years I have been active in the design industry.

 

Ensure that in your sphere you deal with people with the utmost respect, courtesy and professionalism.

 

He then arrogantly said I needed to go to his Facebook page and see how good he was. He won no points nor hearts over with his display and a number of people said so to him on the thread and to me, privately. He was blacklisted immediately by a number of people and he still did not take correction from those who offered it. Rather, he stood his ground and stated that he did not even need my patronage or that of anyone else as he was just too good to need our money.

It was shocking to see a self-professed professional say that boldly on the world wide web where your name, details and company profile can be easily accessed and lead to severe losses for you, client wise and as is evident these days. He kept going at it, becoming more and more rude and abusive, till I had to block him online and that was his own idea too! He actually said if I did not like what he was saying, I should block him so I did. Gladly.

That was a horrible, public display poor people skills and equally horrible customer relationship management. Do better.  Your business…your very means of livelihood depends on it.

 

Onuora Onianwa

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