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Maybe not so easy...

Staples…that was easy…oh, really.  Perhaps I begin to harp on this too much but after a recent experience at Staples, I felt thrown back in time to a point where the term “Customer Service” had yet to be coined.  After purchasing an item that was obviously opened and returned, I noticed that it was broken.  Heading back to Staples, I parked in the near empty lot and upon entering I was greeted by a salesperson (not a teenager, mind you), who inquired if he could be of assistance.  I told him I was there to return an item.  Upon hearing that he quickly became disinterested and motioned for me to get in line…I’m glad it was short.  As I waited for the only cashier who was open, I looked around and noticed quite a few Staples employees mulling about, with no look of determination to help anyone.  Strange.  How about helping me get in and get out?  Regardless, when my turn came I was rung up and unfortunately informed that as I purchased my item with a debit card, that I HAD to be reimbursed with cash.  This is my business card, and being given a credit to my card, as other businesses have done, is much preferred.  Sorry, no go.  Cash only.  Needles to say, I took my $24.59 over to the bank and deposited it…I think the cashier thought I had lost it!

When I reflected upon this transaction, I thought how much easier it would have been with Amazon, or even Wal-Mart.  So, that was easy…not so much.

I was also thinking of a passage in Joey Asher’s How to Win a Pitch, where he discusses the thought processes that all businesses must undertake in order to survive in a service oriented world:

I often feel that low energy would not be so common in business if everyone approached a new business pitch the way a professional baseball player approached an “at bat.”  Think about the mental pressure that every Major League batter faces.  Every time he steps to the plate, he knows he has to perform because there are hundred of young, hungry players out there waiting to take his place.  He doesn’t have to hit it out of the park every time, but he has to bring intensity to the ballpark everyday.  If his performance lags for any prolonged period, he’s done; his career is over.

Most people in business don’t approach their jobs with anywhere near the intensity of ball players.  I wonder, however, if people did consider their job to be on the line every day whether it would make a difference in the vocal energy the brought to the pitch.  I suspect it would.

I loved this passage when I read it.  How is your intensity, and how are your employees engaging with clients and prospective clients?  If you don’t know, perhaps it’s time to check…

I believe it has to come from the top down.  What do you think?  How can companies service their customers better?

Preston Ehrler

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