Is It Really A Thing Of The Past?

Treat others as you want to be treated….that is the basis for the Golden Rule.  In sales, it has morphed into “The customer is always right”.  I know there are instances when you think you cannot really abide by that because your customer is a bit abusive,  but generally speaking it is a standard we all live by.  However, I recently had an incident where I am sure neither treating others or the customer being right did not make the play book.

As many of you know writing a book is a major feat. There are so many different components that go into it and the final product is like your baby.  When a mistake about printing pricing and forgetting to charge for something on the original run and making excuses about the quality of the finished product come into play, and not so much as an apology…you have to ask yourself, is customer service a thing of the past?  Has everyone become so jaded with the state of the economy that we actually believe all the media hype that business is so bad we should be grateful for any crumbs thrown our way?

Have you seen the commercial with the man of 2011 in the gas station with attendants from the 1950s?  People are scurrying around his car wiping the windows, checking the oil etc. and he believes he is being car jacked or that his engine is being stolen.  Has it really been that long ago that customer service was in the majority, not the minority?

People choose to do business with people they know, with people they like and with people they trust.  Dust off your customer service skills and use that old fashioned Golden Rule in your personal and professional life.  Although people might be surprised with your tactic at first, they will start to remember how it used to be and maybe even smile a little more as they choose to do business with you.