| Cutomer
Service Determines Your Future Craig A.
Steffen
It was the
best of times; it was the worst of times.
I recently
returned from a baseball trip with an old buddy I’ve known since my high school days. We traveled to three of Major League
Baseball’s newer stadiums to admire their architecture and to critique their design
and business choices. We are avid fans of the
game and business people. Between us, there
are only two stadium we have not yet visited.
As my buddy
and I traveled east to see new and renowned ball-yards, we experienced in one place, an
organization that exhibited a passion for their customers.
At one point, we watched in amazement as a food worker came out from behind
her counter to assist a misty-eyed adolescent after he had spilled his order immediately
after having paid for it. The worker helped
to clean up the mess and gave the lad a new tray of food – no charge. Later, an usher brought late-comers to their
assigned seats, only to find them already occupied by others who were not holding ticket
stubs to that particular section. Because
there were several empty seats in the area, the usher said, “I don’t really care
where you sit so long as you all get along – enjoy the game.”
In stark
contrast to this example of customer passion, was our experience at another of the new
ballparks. We arrived at the stadium well
before game time in a light rain. We enjoyed
the game for several innings, fortunate to be under cover.
Though the paid attendance was more than 30,000, by the 7th
inning of a tie ballgame there were no more than 8 or 10 thousand fans remaining. As the rains increased, those fans that were
originally seated in unprotected areas naturally sought to move to vacated seats located
under cover.
We watched
in horror as usher after usher aggressively approached each of these already drenched fans
and chased them out of these empty protected seats simply because their ticket stub showed
they were supposed to be somewhere else. These
fans were publicly accused, verbally abused and physically removed – in some cases by
security personnel. They were treated exactly
as one might expect a shoplifter to be treated. What
was their “crime?” They simply had
a natural desire to come in out of the rain and enjoy the great American pastime.
The
particular franchise in this second example is one that annually struggles to put a
competitive team on the field because of financial constraints. Though they have a beautiful new ballpark, they
rarely sell-out. Their payroll is among the
bottom few in all of Major League Baseball. Each
autumn, when other teams dream of pennant races, this team is selling off recognizable
stars for unknown minor leaguers in order to reduce payroll.
The
franchise in the first example has no such financial constraints, though their ballpark is
now more than 10 years old. They continue to
be among the top few in annual attendance even though they have the misfortune of being in
one of baseball’s most competitive divisions. They
are also one of baseball’s most profitable franchises despite a long post-season
drought.
Coincidence? My experience says NO! Both franchises want to put a winner on the field. Both franchises want to operate in the black. Yet one is financially stable while the other
struggles publicly year after disappointing year.
I’m
certain there are multiple factors in the dichotomy of these two teams. But I am convinced that one prominent factor is a
misplaced passion. One team exhibits a
passion for customers that leads them to their goal of stable profitability. The other has a passion for profitability that
blinds them to the mistreatment of their customers, and thus keeps profitability
consistently out of their grasp.
Is
it easy (even enjoyable) for your customers to do business with you? Do your customers rave or rage about your service
to them? Before you answer those questions,
consider the lessons of the aforementioned “tale of two cities.”
Paraclete
Consulting specializes in helping companies evaluate existing products and develop new
products. Hit "Contact Us" to get a FREE consultation. |
