In a fast-paced, drive through and instant-online world the days of face-to-face customer relations might be a thing of the past. Longstanding business relationships are shipwrecked when communication is only facilitated through electronic means. The old saying of “The Customer is Always Right” could be replaced by “The Customer is Forever Frustrated” …
Businesses are spending oodles of money building their brand – catchy logo’s, memorable advertising, and appealing mottos. They offer excellent products or services for sale and spend time and effort to persuade clients. Friendly and knowledgeable customer relations personnel are supplanted by chatbots with automated replies, ill-informed call center attendants and online customer surveys.
The fatal flaw with this exchange is that money can’t buy customer satisfaction and the “word-of-mouth-factor” is underestimated. One disappointed and frustrated customer/client can cost a company a pretty penny – not only financially, but also reputationally.
Companies, big and small, should regard customer service as a priority – what are they without their customers anyway? True business success will depend on authentic customer satisfaction. While implementing digital migration and transformation, companies should not undervalue the significance of human contact. Even replacing a email with a phone call every now and again would go a long way is building relations and understanding your client’s needs.
So, is the customer always, right? We all know that we use the saying tongue-in-cheek, because some customers are abrasive and particularly picky and hard to please. The majority of customers, by comparison, are truly interested in having their concerns heard and resolved in a respectful and efficient way.
Maybe the solution is a good dose of humility all around – companies and clients alike. Respect goes a long way and will profit everyone involved – in the end, the customer-business relationship should be king…