Are customers cattle?

Are customers cattle?

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This morning I had a unique experience while stopping at a fueling station for some petrol. This is something that I flat out do not like doing. Fuel is expensive, the stations are crowded, fuel is expensive, employees are rude, fuel is expensive, and everybody just wants to get out of there as soon as possible. Did I mention that fuel is expensive?  To make matters worse, this particular filling station seemed to be having a problem with their credit card readers outside. So I stood in line inside amongst a multitude of other dissatisfied people.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

As I was standing in line, I thought to myself “Self, I wonder how the owner of this establishment perceives his business?” (I was also thinking “This is why I bought a Prius”. I certainly don't drive it for its stylish appearance).

This experience, which in my mind, was building up to a rather unpleasant event was surprisingly diffused. The manager on duty immediately realizing the problem, had started offering doughnuts and conversation to the myriad of people waiting unhappily in line. Within only a matter of moments, he had diffused all of the tension that had been building up amongst his patrons. It wasn't the doughnuts. It was his contagious positive attitude. He understood the problem, addressed the problem, had the correction implemented and focused his energy on his customers. Myself, as a customer took comfort in knowing that the problem was acknowledged and corrected, all with a positive and uplifting attitude.

When I finally made it into the office, running about 5 minutes late, I immediately started digging into my daily routine of dealing with unhappy vendors, unhappy sales reps, and anybody else who might have been disgruntled for some reason or another and surprisingly, the positive attitude of that manager carried through my actions. After having a few moments to think, while sipping my MIO, I pondered very same question that I asked myself while standing in line at that gas station.

How do our customers see our establishment?

I then put myself in our customer’s shoes. Most people do not like borrowing money. They do not like having to lease a vehicle. These generally are not considered enjoyable experiences for them and I am betting that there are more than a few who consider arranging for financing a rather painful experience.

With price tag  varying between $1000-$4000 for adding a customer onto the books, it seems odd that once they are our customers, we as an industry fall short in providing them with a memorable customer service experience. Most of our customers only hear from us if there's something wrong with their account or if they are delinquent. When is the last time that we've shown our customers any type of appreciation? Our average customers are usually manipulated through their initial experience and and simply requested to “sign here” as the sales rep closes the deal and has already mentally prepared for the next one.

Our customers are not (usually) stupid and they understand that in most situations that they are merely a number. 

Once again, MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I would like to personally challenge every reader of this blog to show one of their customers an example of superior customer service.

It is my belief that if we slow down the sales process and return  to the good old days of “relationship” selling,  that our portfolios will not only be stronger for it, but that our sales teams will double their repeat business. 

We are living in times where leasing and finance is considered a simple commodity and every bank operates in basically identical ways. Only difference now is who has the ability to price the transaction at the lowest rate.

Is it too late to return back to the basics; to let our customers know that they are valued or to let them know that they are important to our business? 

I would submit to you that we as an industry have become the Cow. Most of us look the same, act the same and MOOOOO the same. 

Will customer service be the vehicle that returns us to uniqueness?