The Customer Is Always Right?
It's really fascinating to me how the same sentiment can be independently expressed by several people at virtually the same time across different online and offline media that I follow.
The current thread could be the leading edge of a shift in attitudes toward "the customer."
Last night I caught an update on Facebook remarking that it's not just the customer who deserves a "thank you." It was postulated that vendors deserve more than just paying their invoices when they deliver. Good vendors work very hard to deliver a positive experience, even when it doesn't show.
Then, this morning a newsletter in my inbox talked about the benefits of pissing off some customers to gain more customers. In the example given in Shamus Brown's Egopower, Murky Coffee in Arlington, VA reused to sell an iced espresso and then, objected when the customer bought an espresso and a cup of ice to make his own. The annoyed "former" customer blogged about it. The story was picked up by the Washington Post. And, Murky Coffee which takes its coffee very seriously and refuses to compromise attracted a whole new slew of customers who share the same attitude.
So, is the customer always right?
When you started your company, you had a vision, a mission, and a commitment to deliver a product and/or service that is unique, that fills a gap. You landed accounts because those people wanted to buy what you were selling. As time went by and perhaps we found ourselves in a challenging time, a customer here and there asked for changes or exceptions or worse, delivered an ultimatum that could end up fundamentally compromising what is being delivered. Or, we start second-guessing ourselves and thinking, "Well, maybe if we did things like our competitors, then we'll be more successful."
I believe you have to have the courage of your convictions and that the clients who count will appreciate that and you.
A big part of working for yourself is being able to call the shots and do something better than everybody else. As the saying goes, "have fun and make money, not necessarily in that order". Sometimes, you have to fire a customer to do that.
The current thread could be the leading edge of a shift in attitudes toward "the customer."
Last night I caught an update on Facebook remarking that it's not just the customer who deserves a "thank you." It was postulated that vendors deserve more than just paying their invoices when they deliver. Good vendors work very hard to deliver a positive experience, even when it doesn't show.
Then, this morning a newsletter in my inbox talked about the benefits of pissing off some customers to gain more customers. In the example given in Shamus Brown's Egopower, Murky Coffee in Arlington, VA reused to sell an iced espresso and then, objected when the customer bought an espresso and a cup of ice to make his own. The annoyed "former" customer blogged about it. The story was picked up by the Washington Post. And, Murky Coffee which takes its coffee very seriously and refuses to compromise attracted a whole new slew of customers who share the same attitude.
So, is the customer always right?
When you started your company, you had a vision, a mission, and a commitment to deliver a product and/or service that is unique, that fills a gap. You landed accounts because those people wanted to buy what you were selling. As time went by and perhaps we found ourselves in a challenging time, a customer here and there asked for changes or exceptions or worse, delivered an ultimatum that could end up fundamentally compromising what is being delivered. Or, we start second-guessing ourselves and thinking, "Well, maybe if we did things like our competitors, then we'll be more successful."
I believe you have to have the courage of your convictions and that the clients who count will appreciate that and you.
A big part of working for yourself is being able to call the shots and do something better than everybody else. As the saying goes, "have fun and make money, not necessarily in that order". Sometimes, you have to fire a customer to do that.
posted by Lydia Sugarman at
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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