Customer Service is About Your Attitude Towards Other People

Not long ago, I purchased a "magnetic" bracelet from TGW.com. The product was touted as being of high quality and the price matched the hype. In less than three months the micro-welds on two of the bracelet links broke and I nearly lost the product. (On the advice of a jeweler I eventually used automotive "Lock Nut" to make shaky repairs. But why was I patching this product?)

I sent a very friendly note to TGW.com about what I considered either a defect or poor workmanship. I received no answer so I sent a note to the company that manufactured the bracelet. No answer.

Why is this germane to this blog series? Because neither company apparently gave a "diddly squat" about this particular consumer. It would have taken a single employee less than five minutes to (at the very least) apologize for my problems. Since I received no answer, I can only believe that once the money has changed hands these folks move on to the next buck, the next prospect - leaving a potentially valuable customer hanging.

I can understand how a company can become busy and even possibly miss out on some simple customer issues as this. I am not angry at these companies - They are only doing big company "things." However, they have permanently lost both a customer and a potential repeat buyer.

Is this your idea of quality customer care? How about your idea of simple courtesy? In business, or in life in general, there is no essential difference between these two critical human concepts. You either care about your ethics and attitude - and they apply to personal as well as business relationships - or you don't.

I personally spend countless hours doing my best to provide value to the people who I encounter. It doesn't matter whether they spend money with my company or not - my goal is to do my best to help them solve problems and live a better life. I'm not always successful - in fact, over the years I have had some sheer whoppers of "dumbicity" - but I DO push myself hard to perform. When I screw something up, I bend over backwards to correct the error and do my best not to repeat the mistake. I even go so far as to try and provide others with a recap & lessons learned so they can avoid the same problems - without having to take the lumps.

My company is nowhere near as wealthy or successful as the two mentioned above. Then again, it doesn't need to be. At least I wouldn't want it to be if this is the bottom line reflection of success. Years ago, I built up a pretty good freelance photography business. I did fine but an acquaintance built the same style business in about 1/4 the time and became extremely successful. His secret - the more negative attitude he threw at his customers, the more money they threw at him. Are we (the theoretical "we") doing something a bit backward here or is this a realistic business practice? Sometimes I honestly wonder... (I mean - seriously. This is one of the issues that literally keep me up at night.)

How do you treat others? How do your co-workers treat other businesses? Do you care? Do you take the time to look at where the customer or other individual is really coming from? Do you honestly to try and relate to their needs? Which attitude will help you become more successful? Do your personal ethics end where the corporate door begins? Which do you choose?

Only you can decide...