Comments on: Ignore a Customer’s Lifetime Value at Your Own Risk

By: Lessons in Customer Service and Selling Emotion

Lessons in Customer Service and Selling Emotion — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:56:47 +0000

[...] out of this person before they leave the room or we end up losing money.” Lifetime value probably didn’t cross their mind. Emotional impact of the argument didn’t, nor did effects of pissing off a social [...]

By: 3 Easy Ways to Treat Your Customers Right : Instigator Blog

3 Easy Ways to Treat Your Customers Right : Instigator Blog — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:17:56 +0000

[...] Here are three stories that demonstrate how easily companies can take basic steps to keeping customers happy for life. [...]

By: sulz

sulz — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:29:22 +0000

i cannot help but nod in agreement everything you've said in this post! i've just recently purchased a pair of pants from mng (malaysia) in a sale, and a couple of hours after i changed my mind and i wanted a different colour of the pants.

i thought if i could speak to the manager she could use her discretion to allow me to do so, even if they have a non-exchangeable policy for sale. i mean, it was just a simple change of colours. she was adamant and pretty curt about upholding her company's policy.

i faxed a complaint letter to the company and they didn't even bother to reply. while they had done nothing wrong in this case, i've decided i rather patronise little boutiques where the manager is probably the owner and could be more accommodating to her customers than large retail boutiques who only care about their damn policies.

By: sulz

sulz — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:29:22 +0000

i cannot help but nod in agreement everything you’ve said in this post! i’ve just recently purchased a pair of pants from mng (malaysia) in a sale, and a couple of hours after i changed my mind and i wanted a different colour of the pants.

i thought if i could speak to the manager she could use her discretion to allow me to do so, even if they have a non-exchangeable policy for sale. i mean, it was just a simple change of colours. she was adamant and pretty curt about upholding her company’s policy.

i faxed a complaint letter to the company and they didn’t even bother to reply. while they had done nothing wrong in this case, i’ve decided i rather patronise little boutiques where the manager is probably the owner and could be more accommodating to her customers than large retail boutiques who only care about their damn policies.

By: Gordon R. Vaughan

Gordon R. Vaughan — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:03:40 +0000

"Disgruntled consumers are much louder than satisfied ones."

Yeah, that's one of the main reasons why "The customer is always right."

"I also have noticed the same problem with franchises, as with Panda, and this is a bit odd since franchises are actually independently owned."

That's a common problem, independent franchisees putting their own profits ahead of the overall brand/reputation of the parent company.

By: Gordon R. Vaughan

Gordon R. Vaughan — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:03:40 +0000

“Disgruntled consumers are much louder than satisfied ones.”

Yeah, that’s one of the main reasons why “The customer is always right.”

“I also have noticed the same problem with franchises, as with Panda, and this is a bit odd since franchises are actually independently owned.”

That’s a common problem, independent franchisees putting their own profits ahead of the overall brand/reputation of the parent company.

By: Carnival of Small Business Issues - Edition 7 : Atlantic Canada’s Small Business Blog - IQI Strategic Management Inc.

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:57:51 +0000

[...] the ads, and it’s simply amazing how they ARE changing the face of recruitment. In his post, Ignore a Customer’s Lifetime Value at Your Own Risk Ben hits the nail on the head with his sandal buying experience at [...]

By: Working at Home on the Internet

Working at Home on the Internet — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 11:10:37 +0000

[...] Ignore a Customer’s Lifetime Value at Your Own Risk by Ben Yoskovitz… Ben relates through personal experience how important a longtime customer can be, for better or worse. [...]

By: Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog » Management Improvement Carnival #13

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:45:10 +0000

[...] Ignore a Customerâ€™s Lifetime Value at Your Own Risk by Ben Yoskovitz – “Too many businesses are shortsighted in their approach. Close a deal, take someoneâ€™s money and get â€˜em out the door. Thatâ€™s their way of doing business. And itâ€™s just not good enough.” [...]

By: Colin Surprenant

Colin Surprenant — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:41:27 +0000

This is a very generalized problem with what I call the "zero ownership" corporations in particular in the retail and service industries. This really is a plague and it is getting worst with the extinction of the smaller, independent, owner-managed retail stores or enterprises.

Employees or â€œassociatesâ€ of the big retail stores donâ€™t have any sense of ownership in the business they work for and simply do their job within the guidelines. Also, bigger corporations usually donâ€™t have any core values that employees can relate to. In smaller independent stores you almost always get a better service and they will usually do what is required and some extra to please the customer in order to stay alive and grow their business.

I also have noticed the same problem with franchises, as with Panda, and this is a bit odd since franchises are actually independently owned. It is maybe related to the fact that franchise owners donâ€™t actually work in their store but hire â€œmanagersâ€ or maybe because lots of franchises are actually attached to big corporations that simply donâ€™t have core values other than providing goods at the lowest price.

For me, given the choice, I will try to favor the (usually specialized) independent store where I will always get a better pre-sales experience & customer service, with help choosing the best product for my need with usually a competent salesperson.

Other than that, I do my homework choosing the right product, order it online at the lowest possible price and pray I wonâ€™t have to deal with customer service.

Colin.