Recently, I contacted a car consortium that has been servicing my vehicles for about 10 years.
They've leased me a Volvo and a Porsche during that time, but, because of flawed sales and service practices, they've missed out on leasing me a number of other cars.
Just a few weeks ago, they avoided another deal because they simply didn't return my phone call promptly, a call in which I stated exactly what I was shopping for and the national lease deal I was seizing, offered by the manufacturer.
As is my practice, I notify Realtors, car dealers, and other major suppliers when they've blown it. Usually, they call or send a note in contrition, but the car outfit did neither, seeming to ignore my feedback, altogether.
"Why are they being so foolish?" I wondered.
Finally, an insight hit me like a Mercedes SUV.
They don't want my business, and they're happy to see me go.
Chalk up this sentiment to CRM, which by now is spreading its toxic, anti-customer service philosophy across the economy. In essence, Customer Relationship Management says flat-out that we should segment our customers into the least and most profitable, and abandon, or at least discourage the former.
This notion was at work recently when SPRINT "fired" approximately 1,000 customers for having called into customer service too often.
What, exactly, is the profile of a great customer, according to CRM practitioners? It's someone who (1) Pays the fattest margins, without qualm or hesitation, (2) Requires relatively no attention or servicing, never complaining; and one (3) Who can be expected to be loyal without special prodding, discounting, or service heroics.
In other words, CRM's secret portrait of a great customer is one who doesn't want or expect service at all. It's a person who will go without, or rely on self-help.
No wonder human-staffed customer service departments are being gutted and outsourced to distant lands where call center reps can barely speak comprehensible English. Companies are STARVING SERVICE because they believe only the worst customers require it; customers they'd be thrilled to see vanish.
Of course, this sort of service discrimination belies the old customer service ethic, that every customer, high or low, deserves our best efforts. If you take on a customer, you're promising to please, or to exhaust yourself, and occasionally strain your treasury, while trying.
The old customer service ethic had its own presumptions: (1) Little customers grow into big ones, and we need to invest in these relationships because our loyalty to them will pay off; (2) Even the smallest accounts know bigger ones, and can refer them to us, singing our praises in the process; and (3) It's simply good practice to try hard, always, with everyone, because excellence is a discipline and a habit, that you cannot efficiently turn on and off like a tap.
What CRM's boosters fail to see is how much of a negative spiral they're contributing to.
By discouraging and punishing the "small spenders" among us, they discourage them even more from buying and investing, because the under-served anticipate yet more poor treatment and to be offered an anorexic value proposition.
This disinvestment from both parties contributes to economic contraction, less business and lower profits for all.
But seeing this requires long-term vision, something CRM practitioners don't employ with their "What have you bought from us, lately?" outlook.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top trainer, conference and convention speaker, and sales, customer service, and negotiation consultant. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, more than 1,000 articles and several popular audio and video programs. His seminars are sponsored internationally and he is a faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of sales, management and consulting experience to the table, with impressive academic credentials: A Ph.D. from USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies...
His web site is: http://www.customersatisfaction.com and he can be seen on CNBC at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932# and reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. His blogs include: YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS! and ALWAYS COLD CALL! at: http://www.alwayscoldcall.blogspot.com
