Putting the customer back in focus

Yesterday I referred to not having been treated as I think a customer should. With service and respect.

And wouldn’t you believe it. This morning I stroll into a huge retail outlet specialising in elecronics to buy a camera. They have just opened, so shop attendants are still standing around doing nothing, talking, joking with each other, finishing up their coffee. Looking at something on a Mac.

I approach one (rather than being approached by one of them), ask about a Sony Cybershot. Without even looking in my direction, he points out to me that “I need to speak to the tall bloke who knows about the cameras”. I ask him where he is, and he says “last time I saw him he was still in the warehouse”. “He should be down any minute”.

I wait. The shop attendants are still together, not really interested in any of the other customers who have swarmed into the warehouse. About 10 minutes later, one of them happens to walk by, notices me still hanging around (by the fingernails I might add) and gets the ‘alternative’ camera guy to help me. I ask a question about the batteries and he immediately points out to me he cannot help. He knows nothing about cameras and doesn’t have any keys to the demo models. Maybe the tall guy can help, he says…..

I make my apology, explain I have been there for some 15 minutes and that I could have bought 3 cameras by now if only someone had bothered to help me, and leave.

It is these moments, and I am sure you have encountered them as well, when I realise that many organisations fall over themselves to get with the latest trends, the technology, the new models, the advertising, the window dressing, the seasonal and the fashionable, but they completely miss the basics.

In this example, the ‘tall guy’ should have been there for me. Basic ingredient. His coffee drinking colleagues should have fallen over themselves to locate him, keeping me informed. Basic ingredient. His colleagues should have been aware of my frustration, they should have taken ownership and certainly should not have palmed me off to any of their colleagues. Basic ingredient.

Now I sit here regularly writing about ‘the ultimate customer experience’. Heck, I had a little plan to write about how great those customers must feel who get wheeled around on airports on those special cars with an airport attendant and all their luggage safely with them. They are either very rich, celebrities or perhaps disabled, whatever the cause may be.

But they feel great. Sitting on those carts, being rolled to their next flight, they feel like a million dollars. They are the coolest customers this side of the galaxy. That little moment. That’s real customer satisfaction. Distill some of that into your business, find out what your ‘airport special cart service’ is, and you will be very successful.

As you can see, I didn’t get to write about the airport carts. There were other pressing things at hand today. They put my feet back firmly on the ground.

I realise that perhaps the situation out there is worse than I thought. While organisations are spending their time and money trying to be the next big thing for their customer,vying for attention and reputation, it appears they forget the basic business ingredients for customer satisfaction.

It’s like designing the world’s greatest car, knowingly forgetting the wheels, and insisting we are going for a nice drive.

That’s not just arrogant, it’s stupid.

There isn’t much C, R or M in it either.