Catherine the Great had her enemies, but in the main was considered a successful monarch. The above quote – credited to Catherine is certainly an interesting stance for leadership and indeed transactional life.
I was reminded of this saying when I was sat in a discussion group on retail this week – with many unsatisfied customers who were commenting on what seemed to be a growing phenomenon. Businesses who were unable to take on critique or feedback when something isn’t right?
What’s so wrong with saying you are unhappy with a paid good or service if it was not as sold? Why should you suffer in silence? Should you really be expected to appease someone in a business to make them feel better?
I was amazed at how many people feel the same and some of the customer service disasters I had heard about of late.
I wonder whether there needs to be a stronger voice for so many consumers out there who feel over promised and under delivered – and a charter of service created.
Liz Jones is certainly achieving it – and I have to say that this could be the start of something revolutionary –
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2085349/Liz-Jones-Why-dont-women-moan-like-me.html
Think about it – money is harder come by, everyone is already at snapping point, life’s really a challenge right now – and then when you do have to make a purchase – if you get an issue and the business aren’t savvy enough to handle it providing instead - attitude and excuses. The consumer is understandably going to start to rebel.
Can you imagine in the case when its not a matter of a life essential/needed purchase but it’s actually a ‘nice to have’ – a treat that the consumer has saved for (spa day, luxury garment, hotel stay) – and that then turns into a disaster…the consumer is going to feel more extreme frustration and emotion as the business has taken a rare and precious joy and ruined it and the golden moment with it.
And that’s when we get a split – businesses reactions to complaints fall into the good, (often, the mediocre), the bad and the ugly.
In a customer complaint situation, a business can create a better impression than even a simple transaction – and yet many more businesses take the option to become awkward or unresponsive and in some cases – argumentative.
If you are a business who wants to take competitor advantage – then firstly – try to ensure that the grounds for getting it wrong and complaints are minimised – and then find your own way of handling challenging situations if it does go wrong. Set a benchmark – that you haven’t achieved satisfaction if that customer isn’t going to come back and tell friends what a great job you did in turning it all around.
If you need help with your customer service – call us – we can help. Don’t end up on Liz Jones list!
