A Sure Fire Way to Say You Do NOT Care About Your Customers

There are many ways to show your customers that you care about them. Let me share one that tells your customers that YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEM. Remember, my friend, that in business it is sometimes the little things that begin to tear down the company that we have worked so hard to build. One of those little things is a real problem to me. I see it in almost every company and at almost every level. It is my belief that we do not realize the impact it has on people. In some small way it affects our "believability." What is it? It is the thing we can not do without. It's the telephone.

Whether you like it or not we live in the age of voice mail. There are some who wish they could return to the good old days and talk to a real live person again. There are others who really do not care one way or another. But now to my soapbox!

If you are going to use voice mail, please return your calls and do so in a timely manner. I fear too many of us have begun using voice mail as our personal gatekeeper. "I do not want to talk to that person, so I'll just let voice mail handle it." Your customers deserve your responsive call. They want to talk to a live person and they need to know that you are there for them. If you promise to call back and do not, it affects your credibility and believability.

I have a friend who has an interesting voice mail. It goes something like this."Hi, You have reached ______'s voice mail. I will not be calling you back so I do not care if you leave a message or not."

Now, this guy is a businessman. Frankly, I DO NOT CALL HIM ANYMORE! Personally, I think it is rude, and uncalled for. But that may just be me.

As a business owner, I personally believe that I want to be available 24/7. That is why I carry a "smart" phone with me. Many business people I know do NOT feel this way, and that is perfectly okay with me. However, if there is a problem or need from a client/customer, I want to be able to address it. And address it NOW! That call is a concern from a customer and it needs to be addressed.

• I know some people pretty high up in their organizations that pass out their cell phone numbers and tell people not to hesitate to call them if there is a need. To me, that is pretty impressive.

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Paul Donihue is President and CEO of a national business financial solutions company. This article is an edited excerpt from his book, “11 Ways to KILL Your Business …and Avoid Success!” You can learn more about the book by visiting his blog at www.dontkillyourbusiness.typepad.com or www.blowthedoorsoffbusiness.com You may order his book through the blog. Reprints of this article may be used with expressed consent with the authority that Paul Donihue is the Author, and that the info. link at dontkillyourbusiness.typad.com be left in tact in all reprints.

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