Customer Relations: Customer Concept or Why the Truth Doesn’t Matter
65Customer Relations – it’s not always as easy as you would think. It would seem that being truthful about your product or services would impress your customer. But, that’s not always the case.
Is the customer always right? Maybe not. But the bottom line is that your customer’s concept of what is right is the only thing that counts
The Customer Concept May Not Reflect What’s Right or True
I was at a convenience store today waiting in line with about twelve other people.
Suddenly, the door opened and a woman stuck her head in, pointed to the young man in front of me and said, “You have to move your car. You’re blocking my way.”
The young man quickly stepped out of line and headed to the door. When he did, the woman continued, “This isn’t a parking lot, Dude. It’s called a business. You can’t go parking anywhere you want…”
As he followed her out to her car, we could hear her yelling at him all the way. Three people went to the window and commented, “She’s STILL at it!”
Everyone shook their heads and we all felt sorry for the young man.
But here’s the thing.
The woman was absolutely right! Of course, the young man should not have parked his car in such a way that it blocked other people from getting out. Not only did it case an inconvenience, but what if there was an emergency?>
Yet, even though all of the people in the store would probably have agreed that the woman was right in what she was saying, every single one of them sided with the boy.
Why?
Though “Right” was on her side, she developed a negative concept in the way she delivered her message.
The woman presented herself in an unattractive way. She went overboard in her rants at the boy. So the concept of all of the witnesses shifted.
Instead of seeing the situation from her point of view – the inconvenience, and aggravation of being delayed; we all empathized with the young man’s point of view and HE was the one we perceived as the victim.
For Good Customer Relations, You Must Be in Tune of Your Customer’s Changing Concept
Never take your communication with your customers for granted. Check and recheck that they are perceiving the message the way you intended. Keep in mind that their concept can change.
Today, your customer might feel that your product is too expensive. Next week, after looking at your competitor’s prices, he may realize your price is reasonable. His concept has changed.
Your choice in dealing with him could be to reduce the price when your are first talking. Or help him in some other way, possibly by giving him a list of other places he could find similar products.He may be back or he may not.
But his concept of what it’s like to do business with you will be a positive one. I'm thinking he’ll be back.
When it comes to customer relationships or regular interactions with others, there's no sense in leaving a bad taste in someone's mouth.
What do you think?
Who gets your vote in this situation? The woman or the boy?
See results without votingCustomer Concept and Your Sales Pitch
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It's interesting everybody that has read your article sided with the boy, yet the woman didn't seem to realize her actions were unattractive. Maybe she didn't care or maybe she didn't know better, but I do think there is a very important lesson here on how we need to be careful not to over react when we see things that aren’t right.
For example: I noticed today that somebody used one of my articles from ezinearticles to post on his blog, but failed to include my resource box. Instead of flying off the handle I told him I was flattered that he thought my article was good enough for his blog then politely asked him if he could add my resource box. He wrote me back later apologized and added the resource box.
Now, if I had over reacted there is a very good chance he would have been rude with me and removed my article from his site or worse just told me to get lost leaving me with a battle for my rights as an author.
Thanks Barbara, for another great lesson!
Obviously Customer Service was not on this Womens radar. She sounds very pissed off. Its a classic scenario but lets not over cook situations. That guy could have very easil parked his car in a very stupid position.
Hi Barbara,
Good article. Gave me something to think about. I'll make sure not to
be that lady again.
Justin,
You are absolutely right. The guy had parked in a place that caused inconvenience to other people. He should have parked further down and done a little walking. That's what made it so interesting that the people in the store were so completely on his side due to the way the woman handled the situation.
Had she said, "Please move your car -- it's blocking me and I need to get somewhere" everyone would have been nodding in agreement and thinking how rude it was to block her car.
Sometimes we can be absolutely right in what we are saying, but the way we say it makes the difference between whether we win or lose.
Barbara
You tell such great stories Barbara, thus making your point loud and clear. It's all perception. Your story reminded me of a couple of points.
As you so accurately point out being right isn't the whole story. My mother used to say if you crossed the street in a crosswalk when a car was coming assuming it would stop you may be right; dead but right.
I often used to ask people: "I know what I said, but what did you hear?" So often we think we have explained something clearly but it is only because we are so familiar with what we are selling that we assume the listener understands.
You are so right, Irene. My husband and I have learned to double check each other this way in our private life - not just business. You would think after 30 years, we would know what the other is thinking, but we find there is still lots of room for misconceptions. By constantly looking at things from the other one's point of view, we brought the honeymoon back to a long marriage! :)
Barbara
Absolutely, HOW we say something is every bit as important as WHAT we are saying. Especially when it comes to electronic media and internet marketing it's very important to remind ourselves that there is a REAL PERSON on the other side of the "Tweet" and mind our words accordingly.
ShellyB, The Rat Race Rebel
This happen all to often unfornutately. With all the pressures of everyday life people choose to do things knowing it's not the right thing to do. Sure it was the boys fault but peoples personalities combined with what's going on in their lives make people do things they normally would not do. Everybody has to choose how they want to go about things. If this was a business woman she would eventually do or say something that could effect her business. People remember negative and unnecessary comments and it's almost impossible to get your reputation back after acting like this..
Thanks, Rick --
We do well to remember that we are always "on deck." Treating people well simply brings about better results - and an opportunity to raise the boy's awareness was lost in this scenario.
Life is too short not to make each moment count in helping others.
Theresa Mayhew 3 years ago
Barbara,
You make an important distinction between what is right and the perception of what is right.
When we come from the place of the "problem solver" instead of the "sales person" we will always win. Maybe we won't get the sale 100% of the time, but chances are better that we will be remembered.
Warmly,
Theresa