I Will Never be Your Customer

My team and I regularly assist our clients with their clients.  We do sales calls, we do customer service via phone and email.  Yes, we’re representatives for our clients, but we’re also consumers.

Recently we have come across several people while doing our work that are just…well, let’s not mince words.  AWFUL.  Truly, just mean, nasty people.  Let me give you an example.  People visit a client’s website.  They sign up for something, or they purchase something.  This will put them on a newsletter that gets emailed to them.  This is nothing new, nor surprising.  It’s just good business.

They understand that they are being put on a mailing list.  We all know when it happens – check here, yadda yadda – at the bottom of a sign up form.  We get it.

Now, here’s the fun part.  Some of the people…the nasty people… they get their newsletter.  Then they reply to it.  Things like (and pardon this – it’s an exact quote): “F*** you.  Get lost.”  Yes, this person took the time to Click REPLY and then type in that happy little phrase, rather than just click the UNSUBSCRIBE button that is included in every email.

This person isn’t the first to reply with a nasty message, and he will not be the last.  But I’m not here to talk about how people would rather be mean than unsubscribe.  I want to talk about the fact that this person lost a customer.  Because maybe, I could have been a customer for him.  He doesn’t know that I read his email.  He doesn’t know who I am.  I could be in the building right next door to him, being a customer service rep for my client.  (It’s a Virtual World, now, people.  Workers can be anywhere!)

His first contact with me was one of vitriol.  (What a fun word!)  And that is what he represented his business as.

So what is today’s lesson?  Is it simply a “do unto others” moment?  No.  I think it’s much more than that.  It’s a “treat every person you touch as a potential customer” moment.  On the phone, in a voicemail, in an email…waiting in line at the local coffee shop.  (And if you can't....click Unsubscribe!)

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