Everyone IS Your Customer!

I had a very coincidental experience recently that made me think about which people a company should consider as their customer.  I was making a call to a company about a training program that I had heard they were looking for through a mutual associate.  At the same time this was one of two companies I had narrowed done to choosing for a product I personally wanted to purchase.

After leaving two emails, and three phone message I received a call back from the training director I had been referred to talk to.  I was told that “when she needed training solutions, she made the calls to vendors, and never talked to people like me!”  Then she abruptly hung up on me!  Guess what kind of training I was told they were looking for?  You guessed it, Customer Service!

It was after that “wonderful” treatment that I made my choice of which company I was going to choose to make my purchase.  In essence, the treatment I received from this training director said a lot about the culture, and made me question the level of service I would receive if I chose to become one of their customers.

So my challenge to every organization out there is to provide good service skills, or at the very least try being polite.  You never know how the person you are offending may reciprocate, and at the very least blab like I do about the kind of treatment this store gave me to every friend I know.  I did try to reach the store’s CEO to chat about a potential solution; however, his assistant told me “he doesn’t take calls from people like you.”  Seems he and the training director graduated from the same service training program!

If you and your organization could use a refocus on customer service, I’d be glad to introduce you to a program that would make a difference.  That is of course if your organization allows you to talk to people like me.