I really believe there are different extremes of what you detailed Jonathan. I think we need to beware of the evil cousin to what you described and that’s a philosophy of “it aint my job” Sometimes we are so busy finger pointing within our organizations that our customer is being held hostage.

Perhaps its time for smart businesses to step back, regroup and really get back to the basics of what this is really about and who we really work for?

This is one of those discussions where you can leave with many actionables.

Well done!

Respectfully,
Paul Castain

Someone you both know quite well recently wrote:

“Gone apparently, are the days when the customer is King – now the customer is barely a pauper; short-term profit is the driver and ensuring that the customer experience is as impersonal, uncomfortable and as frustrating as possible, the primary objectives.

Directors and Management often see customer relations as the affair of a ‘Complaints Department’ whilst they get on and run the business – which is a form of warfare carried out against the irritating habits of customers seeking fair treatment, a fair deal or equality of relationship.

Salespeople often see customers as an unruly, disobliging and dishonest source of commission.

Support staff accept that they are paid to (try to) cope (on a good day) with unreasonable, whinging, stupid, ungrateful customers who just will not be told.

Administrators see customers as dunces who must be forced to follow the rigid procedures developed for the convenience of the supplier (an endless nuisance to the customer).

Technical people often see customers as stick-in-the-mud know nothings to be loftily put in their place by the use of elitist techno-jargon.

Production people ignore customers entirely because otherwise they would get in the way of how they want to run the place.

Finance people treat customers not as people but as reference numbers with obligations required to fit processes.

Unkind comments? Not at your place? Great! But anti-attitudes like this abound right across the commercial spectrum. You transact business with your customers — not despite them! Customers pay the wages for everyone, not just the salesforce.”

Best

Jonathan

To expand on your comments, though, this is not just a sales issue — in fact sales are the first to see this challenge (at least in my experience). Often the greatest challenges are in marketing, product management, and other functions. We need to get them to start seeing things from the customer point of view as well.

Thanks for the great comment! Regards, Dave

You get a big AMEN on this fantastic post.

Seeing things from the customer perspective remains a huge area of improvement for many sales people.

This would be a great topic for sales people to have in their next sales meeting . . . “Seeing things from the customers perspective” Perhaps it could be inclusive of a brainstorming session of the many things that buyers find irritating in the buying experience as well as a discussion on the things businesses truly crave such as more sales, more profit, happy customers, streamlied efficiencies etc.

Thank you for the wake up call Dave!

Respectfully,
Paul Castain