July 12, 2006
The Golden Rule
While trying to pull this little post together I found this site. I can see many a post comin' out of that information - but for this post, let's focus a bit....
A good interpretation of the Golden Rule is "Treat others as you would want them to treat you".
Simple. Straight forward. To the point.
Ok, we have that out in the open.
Now, can someone please explain to me WHY THAT PREMISE IS LOST IN BUSINESS ANYMORE?!?!?!?!?
Holy Cow. It's beyond maddening.
Laughing Wolf had a doozy of an experience over at Quick Lube. Huh. Guess they didn't realize who they were messin' with. Hell - I think he may have picked up a few tips from me and my Pep Boys run in. You will want to read his "adventure". Trust me.
But the bottom line in all of that is....if he would have been given good customer service NONE of that would have ever occured.
If someone would have, for one moment, put the all mighty dollar aside and looked at it from the human point of view it would have never exploded like it did.
I'm in sales. I'm a sales manager. I make decisions every day about how to price things, how to deal with issues, how to get the customer to sign on the dotted line.
And, I gotta tell you, I'm pretty good at what I do. You wanna know why?
It's all about the Golden Rule. I treat folks with the respect I want. I tell them the truth - as painful as it can be at times. I pick up the phone as soon as there is an issue and, even if I don't want to, I take the ass chewin'.
And then I make sure they realize I care. I may not understand, and I won't insult their intellegence by faking it. But I do honestly care.
But I'll also be the first to admit I'm a tough customer. Why? Because I expect to be treated the same why I treat others. If I'm not? Yeah, well - you probably don't want to be my "date" for the evening. I may very well embarrass you.
I miss they days of curtesy. I miss the days of honor. I miss being around people that take pride in what they do and the impression they leave.
I swear - I was born in the wrong decade.
Posted by Tammi at July 12, 2006 08:30 AM | TrackBackLife would be so much easier if people were just nice to each other.
Why it is that my customer must act so much better than me and talk down to me? There is nothing that is going to piss me off faster then being talked down to.
Posted by: Quality Weenie at July 12, 2006 08:44 AMWhenever anyone is mistreated, they fall back on that line. But they rarely take the initiative to act upon first.
I agree with you 100%. And you, me and DH are all correct...we were born in the wrong time.
I still say "time-out" and parents who wanted to be their children's "friend" instead of "parent" are to blame for a lot of this crap we've got now. People just don't understand responsibility and doing what you have to do.
Franklin Roosevelt said, "It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are willing to do to get the things that you want." It's true. Bottom line, nothing is free. Give what you want to get. Plain and simple.
*scooting soapbox back into corner* Not that I have an opinion one way or another. ;)
Posted by: Lee Ann at July 12, 2006 08:52 AMI have friends that refuse to go to the store with me. Sometimes even a restaurant. And they will NEVER go with me when I have to return something.
Not because *I* am a meany- but because they know I will be nice and polite, twice. After that, if the customer service is not satisfactory or they are being idiots, I open up with both barrels.
I have complained several times. It truly is an art form, and one many people today sorely lack. (Both on the side of complaining and how to receive a complaint without making it personal.)
Posted by: Rave at July 12, 2006 10:09 AMThanks, and a wonderful post. It has also sparked a thought or two on what it says when you get bad customer service in regards a complaint. Hmmmm, if they don't sue me I might have to write a post or two on that... :)
Posted by: Laughing Wolf at July 12, 2006 11:10 AM