Your business is not that important to us!

I’m sure at one time or another a business has made you feel like your business just wasn’t very important to them. It becomes apparent when they don’t return phone calls or emails in a timely manner. Or they don’t respond at all! How about when you ask for help only to discover the person doesn’t seem all that interested in helping you. Why is it that some businesses don’t seem to care about their customers and come off as if they don’t need the business?

It leaves me thinking that perhaps they already have enough customers and they don’t actually need anymore. This brings to mind a recent encounter with my bank. It was 10:00am on Monday morning. My branch is closed on Mondays which is another story. I went to make a deposit only to discover that the four envelope holders where empty. I wasn’t alone as there were three other customers waiting to use the ATM to make deposits. Just as I was getting ready to leave, a bank employee emerged from behind a locked door. I was relieved because I thought  she was coming to offer some assistance. That wasn’t the case. She was just getting ready to leave. We asked her if she could help us by providing some envelopes. She indicated that the ATM envelopes were in another section of the bank that was locked and she didn’t have access. Fair enough. But she was emerging from the offices. Are you trying to tell me that there are no envelopes in the offices? She didn’t even bother to offer to try and help or to look to see if there was some way to help. She just locked the door behind her and left. So much for caring that I needed to put money in the bank.

I own a small business and I know that the lifeblood of my business is its customers. Every call, email or personal contact is important to me and the success of my business. With the amount of time, energy and money it takes to attract clients why businesses seem to fall apart when it comes to taking care of those customers is beyond me.

In your business, take the time to care about your customer and future customers. Make them feel important and valued for their decision to do business with you. They made the choice to contact you and start a relationship. Let’s not give them a reason to question that decision.