I almost hesitated to use the above title for this blog post. I think one can do and good job *and* make one’s customer feel good. The two are not mutually exclusive. However, one should not come at the expense of the other. The customer isn’t always right. Perpetuating this sales myth is damaging and irresponsible.

My customers are often wrong. It’s my job to educate them. I’m a big fan of Dale Carnegie. I have the un-abridged audio version of How To Win Friends and Influence People. I’ve read his book many times. I’ve listened to his book many times. Even when a customer is wrong, it’s important to listen and to acknowledge the truth as your customer speaks it. The reason why I take the time to listen to my customers is because I want to understand their perception.

I’ve found that many times a customer doesn’t want me to help them to solve their problem nearly as much as they want to express their frustrations and have somebody who will just listen to them for a minute or two. Listening isn’t enough, we also have to hear. Understanding what my customer’s frustrations are is important to me. Listening is the essence of good customer service. However, just because a customer feels a certain way doesn’t mean they are right.

For the customer, their perception is their reality. In order to help them, I find it best to create rapport, enter their world for a moment, step into their shoes, and see things from their perspective. My customers understand their situation and problems much better than I do. I will let my customers tell me a thing or two about their problems before responding. Many times it’s just a simple case of there being a better way to approach a situation or to provide a better solution. It’s our job to use our expertise to educate our customers.

However, if we agree with our customers just to make them feel good or as Dale Carnegie might say, to feel important, we are doing them a great disservice. When our customers approach us, they are seeking our help and services to solve a problem for them. If we do not solve our customer’s problems and meet their needs with real, specific, and tangible results, how long is that good feeling going to last for?

When the customer is wrong, we have a responsibility to educate them, solve their problems, and to meet their needs. Providing real value to our clients and customers is the best kind of customer service that we as professionals can provide.

From Twitter

yourprguy @amandachapel Oh…but there’s deeper meaning to my post on relationships. Get into the words, get underneath the words.

amandachapel @yourprguy | Admit it, you wanna do your customer. Lock her in your basement. Flip her like an omelet. Doggy-style PR.

markdavidson @yourprguy I find your posts to @amandachapel to be strangely erotic.

hbeeinc @amandachapel yeah, it took me a good 25 yrs to break the spell of that bull**** - it’s pretty seductive

amandachapel @hbeeinc | I don’t need trust. I need delivery on time. If it’s fucked up; I need an objective system (the law) that provides for recourse.

markdavidson @amandachapel Because of your current dialog with @yourprguy, @MissMotorMouth and I are now discussing this topic in great detail.

amandachapel @markdavidson @MissMotorMouth | Well take the baton here ’cause I need to go take a nap.

markdavidson @amandachapel We are also discussing how the customer isn’t always right and how it’s our responsibility to educate our customers.

amandachapel @markdavidson | If it’s a recurring transaction; And depending on the nature of the product/service.

markdavidson @amandachapel Right Intention + Wrong Action = Phail. I’d rather have a skilled/gifted MD than an un-skilled MD with a great bedside manner.

tina_winslow Apparently I can only read the front page. Won’t let me go back. Boo hiss @markdavison @amandachapel @missmotormouth talking interests me.

DaisyAvenue @markdavidson No product is able to escape the inevitable curse of the fatal “pursuit of happiness” model. Scalable = ignore that BS.

MissMotorMouth @markdavidson I have no need to relate w/ anyone where customers are concerned but I do want to relate to them.

MissMotorMouth @markdavidson In addition: Having dialog w/ a customer & letting them think they are helping you develop a business isn’t useful to anyone.

MissMotorMouth @markdavidson Saying “I am the expert but work with me” is a waste of time. Credibility gets lost. Be the expert. If one can’t, why bother?

MissMotorMouth @markdavidson W/ efficiency metrics there can be no room for trying to be everything to everyone. I *like* everyone but can’t love them all.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth Hmm, dunno, I’d think people would identify if they thought that their suggestons and encouragements were being heard.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith It depends on the size, purpose & definition of scalability for your particular business. 20 customers & you can listen all day.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith 500K customers & efficiency flies out the window if you try to do that in the same way. Scalable doesn’t= bigger. Means better.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth Yes and no. Take @loiclemeur from Seesmic for example.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith Consulting is more like doing business development for any size company. It isn’t a product. The contacts are the product.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth True.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth True. Consulting? Where did that come into this? Must have missed the @markdavidson part of the conversation.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith Do mean how @loiclemeur is having a dialog with his users? That is called cheap QA.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith User generated content doesn’t build sites. Concept & successful execution builds sites. Someone has to be in charge.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith Consulting came in with the size & purpose of the business. This is why @markdavidson & I should keep our dialogs public.

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith User generated content CAN build sites (e.g., dKos) in rare cases, but 2.0 comment interaction is more likely…

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith Opposite side of the coin is *professionals* who think they understand organizational behavior & misuse/abuse being in charge.

MissMotorMouth @GooseyGoose Full circle: DKos *relates to* rather than *relates with* its users. Someone had to create the platform.

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth ah, came late to the convo… blame scoop I guess. We used that diary approach for a while. No we’re in #drupal hell.

MissMotorMouth @GooseyGoose Whether the creator cares doesn’t matter. It is anarchy in the Bible essentially. Organic growth begins with one person’s idea.

artywah @markdavidson the customer is rarely right, but it’s our job to make them think they are

MissMotorMouth @GooseyGoose Right! And would you *feel* a need to ask users how they *feel* about Drupal? You fix it & they will still complain.

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth ah, but there has to be a bit of hierarchy in your anarchy…

VladZablotskyy @markdavidson agree the title should have been “and” instead of “vs”… or at least it should be in life that way

tindle @markdavidson no, he’s not always right, but he’s always the customer, or he’s not…just as well to bear that in mind..

MissMotorMouth @GooseyGoose Anarchy doesn’t imply disorganization. Hierarchy is a marketing illusion in 2.0. Let everyone *feel* they are a part. Right.

DaisyAvenue @markdavidson You do know that we have to be at a birthday party in 1/2 an hour?

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth I mean what @loiclemeur says here http://tinyurl.com/5p7tly

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth User content enhances sites. What’s w/ the red herrings? Or I missed the pre-me part, sounds like. Read Loic’s thing.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth professional whats?

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth you’re right-but it takes the right kind of person to participate in an “anarchy” with purpose-it can mean instability too.

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth you’re right-but it takes the right kind of person to participate in an “anarchy” with purpose-it can mean instability too.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith @geekmommy is correct in comment on http://tinyurl.com/5p7tly. Meta-topic, eg UGC site dev & UGC model are different animals.

MissMotorMouth @GreenSmith Professional [marketing, PR, talking head, communications, promotions] types who think they understand organizational behavior.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth AOK! Heading out to an art fair, rock on with your bad selves.

GreenSmith @MissMotorMouth Ah, got it. Yes I like to listen to and help amplify/augment what my clients already know.

MissMotorMouth @GooseyGoose It can mean instability & that is how a single personality can destroy but the right one will ignore instability in the herd.

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth but that assumes: a)they can see where herd is going b)they have the capacity to leave if they wish-implicit in anarchy-no?

GooseyGoose @MissMotorMouth as long as the herd is moving the way they want it to-yes…

amandachapel @markdavidson Worse yet, some idiot with a blog pretending to be a doctor. Here’s fake expertise in white socks: http://tinyurl.com/6mxhbw

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Twitter Stars Report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.