The Piper

I am willing to bet that the Pied Piper couldn’t have led those rats around forever.  Either he would have run out of tunes, or the rats would eventually become sick of hearing the same song all of the time.  There may be an endless amount of rats, but some will inevitably be immune to the Piper’s hypnotic tune.

Customers, unlike rats, aren’t guaranteed for any business, even those that have been successful for generations.  Toyota, GM, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s can’t operate as if customers will automatically appear each day.  They understand the importance of always selling.  Never mind that the products being sold may be of dubious quality, they still have to work to be sold.  Small businesses have to focus on the customer just as much, if not more than gigantic, established ones.  A drop in customers can destroy a small business without much effort.

We understand this, which is why we do our best to keep all of our clients satisfied.  This includes banning them from complaining so that they are unable to focus on negative thoughts regarding AcMo.  So far it has worked quite well, but we are always innovating and striving to take our operations to a higher level.

There is also a time in any organization’s natural progression that sales will stagnate.  This can happen as the result of a multitude of outside forces, or it could all be related to operational mistakes, or none of the above.  The companies that survive slowing sales growth are smart to recognize the need for a pivot and execute one before it is too late.

We pivot on a daily basis to stay one step ahead of our competition.  Each day when the doors open and the lights come on, we never know what business sectors AcMo will inhabit.  We go where the opportunities and revenue streams take us.  We’re a lot like sharks in that respect, excepting my dislike of sharks.  Only a fool would get into shark-infested waters and expect to survive.  Can you tell I’m not a fan of sharks?  AcMo is working toward harnessing its potential to be as lethal in business as sharks can be in the water without risking an unprovoked shark attack.  We study their habits and biology for clues to solve the business success mystery from a safe distance.

AcMo business rules 1,7, 42, and 43 were on my mind today.  Not because of a problem at AcMo, but due to an issue a client had with another organization.  This was a painful and expensive lesson for our client that never would have happened with AcMo.  However, our client’s story is one that has been told for years in the automotive world.  Only the names and the vehicles involved change.

Rule #1:  Treat every customer as if s/he is a close personal friend of the CEO, i.e. someone who could get you fired if s/he complains to the CEO.

There are so many times that a customer service representative doesn’t even attempt to provide the minimum level of assistance because the customer is perceived as powerless.  I think the proliferation of online review sites and the ability to quickly and comprehensively destroy a company’s reputation using social media is helping reform bad customer service.  From what I hear, Comcast is still struggling to understand this, and my own experiences with other companies shows there is still a lot of work to be done.

Rule # 7:  The customer relationship DOESN'T END with the sale.

Our aftersales service is comprehensive because we know you’ll have problems with our products.  We strive to provide support because we want you to keep buying as many of our products as you can.  We stand behind—pretty far behind in the case of our exploding products—what we sell.  We don’t assume we can replace a disgruntled customer with an ignorant one and then turn that customer into a disgruntled one too.  Customers are a finite resource and there are a lot of other companies competing for their business.  Disgruntled customers can cause a lot of damage, kind of like killer bees.

Rule # 42:  Your word is everything.

Rule # 43:  Under promise and over deliver.

We don’t say anything and we don’t promise anything so if we deliver at all, you’ll be surprised and pleased.  The only thing we make a point to do is inflate our projected completion times so that we have a pre-installed failsafe to negate the inevitable delays.

The “business” person our client engaged violated all of the above rules and many more.  The worst part about it is that the work this company did appears to be solid, but because trust has been dissolved, every aspect of the work needs to be questioned.  Before this incident, there were no reports of poor business practices or problems with completing agreed upon work on schedule.

Due to the involvement of lawyers in our client’s fiasco, AcMo can’t provide any specifics about the situation.  This is as much for our protection as it is our client’s.  We will advise everyone to do their due diligence on any business before entering into an agreement, and hold the business accountable for its work every step of the process.

Bad deals are part of business.  This impacts large and small companies alike.  However, as I mentioned above regarding lost customers, too many bad deals can sink a small business while it might only be a flesh wound for a larger one.

The problem is that it is hard to know the type of person running the business and whether or not that person is concerned with providing proper service.  There are a lot of people out there who would be happy to take your money without providing anything.  Identifying that type of person before agreements have been signed or funds have been exchanged can save time, money, and aggravation.

Trust but verify and don’t hesitate to speak up when a company has done something wrong.  Or don't, but don't be surprised if a company abuses your rights and gets away with it.  One should also speak up and praise a company that has done the right thing.  Customers can ultimately determine the nature of the business relationship.  I prefer to be on the side where everybody wins, or if anyone has to lose, it’s only a little bit.