2010 July « Systems, procedures, and processes for small business

Twisting like a pretzel to please the customer

By Brian Phillips

I have seen many small business owners exhibit a willingness to do anything for a customer, such as meeting at odd hours. I oppose the idea–I desire to have a life and I’m not willing to turn into a pretzel to please my customers.

Some believe that flexibility shows the customer that the business “will be there for the customer.” Is this really the message that you want to convey?

I doubt that business owners literally mean that they would do anything to please the customer. So where does they draw the line? Are they willing to give up weekends and evenings. If they are willing to meet customers at 7 p.m., why not 8 p.m., or 9 p.m., or any other time the customer chooses?

Some may say that my questions are silly, that we have to draw the line somewhere. I agree that we must draw a line. I simply disagree where the line should be drawn, and who should draw it.

While I believe that we should exhibit some flexibility in dealing with customers, it should be on our terms. We should establish the type of business we want to own, and then operate on that standard. I choose to have a life in addition to my business. I do not want my business dominating my life and preventing me from enjoying other activities.

I will admit that there was a time I would do almost anything a customer requested. And I was miserable. My life was being dictated by the desires of others. And when I finally realized this and established set work hours, a funny thing happened—customers were generally accommodating. We occasionally lose a lead, but it is rather infrequent. Just as customers find a way to accommodate the cable guy, or the phone company, or a multitude of other service providers, they can find a way to accommodate us as well.

Sometimes the customer is wrong

By Brian Phillips

A common phrase in business is “the customer is always right”. Not only is this incorrect, it could also spell disaster if a company truly took it to heart.

Customers are neither infallible nor omniscient, which is really what that phrase means. A company that acts as if they are opens itself to any and all demands, including the most inane.

The premise underlying this phrase is that a business should do whatever it takes to make a customer happy. While you certainly want satisfied customers, if that satisfaction means abandoning principles and giving away the farm, it might be good to have a dissatisfied customer.

I see a lot of small business owners fall victim to the “customer is always right.” The customer often uses their trump card—“You are the professional, you should have known.” On the surface this seems plausible, and it can quickly disarm the small business owner.

In an ironic twist, such claims actually mean that the owner should be omniscient and infallible. Such a standard is irrational for a business owner and the customer alike.

This is where good communications and a well-written documents are crucial. The business owner/ salesman must endeavor to fully understand the customer’s desires and set reasonable expectations. He must help the customer understand what to expect, as well as any factors that might impede achieving those expectations.

Good communications will help avoid most problems, and reduce the significance of those that do arise. It will also help you identify, and avoid, customers who believe that they are always right.

A policies and procedures manual, or a box of chocolates

By Brian Phillips

Do you sometimes feel as if your small business is similar to Forrest Gump’s portrayal of a box of chocolates: You never know what you are gonna get? If so, your life can easily be filled with anxiety and frustration.

Unintended results can be a source of considerable stress. They can produce unhappy clients, unmotivated staff, and many other problems for a small business owner. Your time can be consumed as you struggle to put out fires and cope with the latest crisis. But your business doesn’t have to operate that way.

The results achieved by your company are not a result of karma. They are the consistent and natural result of the actions that you and your staff take. The nature of those actions is the cause of the problems you experience.

If you wanted to bake a pie, you would most likely follow a recipe. You know to take certain steps to create a particular result. Each step would have the identical purpose-to make a delicious pie. The steadiness with which you adhere to the recipe would govern the consistency with which you would produce scrumptious pies. The same holds true of every assignment inside your business.

No matter the product you make or the service you provide, specific steps are required to get the wanted results. When those steps are not followed, your small business is a box of chocolates-you are never certain what you are going to get. And it is seldom what you desired.

The problem gets more complicated when employees are involved. If you have made a lot of pies, you might be able to bake them with no recipe. You know the steps and follow them conscientiously. But your employees have most likely baked far fewer pies than you. They need that recipe, and they require it in writing.

With a written recipe-a procedure-your workers can bake a pie just as delicious as yours. Absent a procedure, that pie might as well be a box of chocolates, as you do not know what you are gonna get. It might be delectable, or it could better function as a ship anchor.

Written policies and procedures provide your employees with the expectations they must have to consistently bake pies, or manufacture widgets, or offer outstanding service for your customers, or any other chore in your company. Written policies and procedures provide the means by which staff will consistently create the results you want.

When every job within your business has such expectations-when you have a comprehensive operations manual-your business has a much greater possibility of providing knowable results. When you have proven policies and procedures for your business it will be a box of chocolates-a cause of pleasure and enjoyment. But it won’t resemble Forrest Gump’s claim, because you will know exactly what the results will be. And that is a good thing.

Twisting like a pretzel to please the customer

Sometimes the customer is wrong

A policies and procedures manual, or a box of chocolates

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