Somewhere way back in the mists of time, man began trading and with that trading came the need to treat customers well. The great differentiator! 

Look after your customers and they will stay with you for life. It sounds absurd today but by the middle of the last century it was common mantra and whilst many companies recognised the statement, most were more inclined to pay lip service, particularly if making good for bad service or a failure to deliver required dipping into the till!

Then came the internet and with it Joe Public’s ability to register discontent for the world to read. So today you don’t need to look your delinquent supplier in the face nor get them on the phone. You don’t need to put yourself into any form of confrontation at all. You simply express your irritation and frustration in writing, knowing that you’ll be putting customers off – taking cash away from the miscreant who had the nerve to treat you so poorly (in your opinion)

Suddenly people who in the past would simply have ‘gone away’ have started taking the time to share their frustrations and discontent. Add this stream of bad news to that of those who were never shy to complain but who can now carefully and ‘with malice aforethought’ word their issues for maximum effect as opposed to sounding off in a managed environment having been carefully moved away from other customers by well trained staff

Today the vast majority of people would not think of buying goods or services without first researching the supplier online, reading all those negatives with far more attention than they afford the positive views also posted. Indeed, the issue of customer service now genuinely has a direct impact on business. In short, mistreat your customers at your peril!

Find out how you can achieve customer satisfaction  Read more