Business thought for the day ....customer related

Rob Keeble

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Think on these words when next you deal with an unhappy customer or even in personal relationships there may be gold in them there squeeks.:D

I quote from an article i recieved.

"Learn to Appreciate the “Squeaky Wheel”


We all love positive feedback. No wonder we prefer to spend more time with clients who make us feel good about ourselves and our business relationship. Our happiest customers affirm the way we do business, the product or service we provide, our sales skills, and our value as human beings. We are drawn to them like moths to the flame.

In contrast, unhappy (read: demanding) customers make us uncomfortable. Every reward happy customers provide is withheld by clients whose expectations have somehow not been met. But if we can look beyond our own discomfort in dealing with dissatisfied customers, we can see their insights as valuable sales training resources. These customers tell it like it is. They keep us honest. They keep us on our toes. They point out where we are falling short in comparison to the competition, and what we and our company need to do to improve.

We all have at least one “squeaky wheel” customer – the individual who habitually complains, pointing out our flaws and our mistakes at every opportunity. These customers seem to command a disproportionate amount of our time and energy. This stress in the relationship even translates into organizational stress within our own company.

It is tempting to dismiss this feedback because we are afraid, or because we just dislike negativity. But this is a poor strategy, because by the time our fear subsides, we may have lost opportunities or accounts. In fact, it is when customers don’t care enough to complain that we are in real trouble.

Clients complain because they need a change. Isn’t that exactly the signal we should be looking for to improve sales performance? Those squeaks can become our compass and set us on the right path, providing early warning for issues that could become catastrophic down the road – not only for this account, but for the accounts of our comfortable customers who may not want to rock the relationship boat… yet.

In both our personal and professional lives, adversity can bring growth and positive change. It’s difficult to see, much less appreciate, while you are experiencing it. But in hindsight, the hurdle-turned-springboard is so obvious! Instead of avoiding unhappy clients or rationalizing why their insights are wrong, we should embrace their criticism and use it to its full potential.


Easy to say but powerful to do.
 
There are a few points in that article that I'd like my boss to consider. ;) (He's not quite the people person I am when it come to dealing with demanding customers.)
 
Well Vaughn this gives you the opportunity to put it in front of him and open the debate about the topic.

But i could also understand your boss having a outlook contrary to the articles outlook when you dealing with the super wealthy. They dont all like parting with their cash;) That could cause anyone to be testy at the best of times.

sent from my Atrix
 
...But i could also understand your boss having a outlook contrary to the articles outlook when you dealing with the super wealthy. They dont all like parting with their cash;) That could cause anyone to be testy at the best of times...

He has a degree in art, so he has some fairly strong opinions about things like picture placement in a room, or what pieces may or may not work well together. Although his opinions are usually right, sometimes he's not as tactful as I am when it comes to persuading the customer to go with our suggestions. He truly wants the customer to have a good-looking end product, and sometimes what the customer wants would look bad. The trick is to explain to the customer why our suggestions are better. Convince them to agree, don't just tell them they're wrong. ;) That kind of thing is something I honed for years doing customer tech support in the software business.
 
Good points and article. I never thought of a complaining customer as a need for possible change. Fed the calves differently a couple of years ago and they weren't as tender. I finally asked my customers their thoughts, some stated it was the same and delicious, others agreed not as tender. All customers returned the next year, gave them a nickle off for returning and then this past year had to raise prices across the board and there were no complaints as the product had returned to being tender as I changed a few more things for the better.
 
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