Idle Chatter. Does It Matter?
03 March 2009
One of my favourite pastimes is eavesdropping. There’s nothing people talk about that doesn’t interest me.
And they openly talk about almost everything. Their sex lives, husbands, wives, children, love affairs, and believe it or not, their sexually transmitted diseases and the appropriate remedies. Their job, co-workers, neighbours, who’s snorting what, and their most recent good or bad experiences.
There isn’t much that I haven’t overheard in my guise as eavesdropper extraordinaire.
And I’ve noticed that good experiences don’t travel very far. They’re talked about only if the opportunity arises.
How often has a friend rung you to blurt out, “Emily, you won’t believe the fabulous experience I just had at Harvey Norman/David Jones/The Good Guys!”
The truth?
The odds are you’ve had this sort of phone call as often as the one that tells you a million dollars is waiting for you at the lotteries office.
But, how many times has a friend called you on the pretence of saying hi, only to then harangue you with their most recent ghastly experience with a tradesman, retailer, the tax office, their sister/brother, the boss?
More than once, I bet.
Why does bad news travel faster than good news?
Because your good experience at Harvey Norman/David Jones/The Good Guys doesn’t ruin your day.
It actually enhances your day. There’s no stress, no pain, and no reason to burden someone else to seek relief. The pleasure hormones are doing their job.
Bad experiences are giant stress builders.
The adrenalin is flowing and it needs to be released. When the pressure valve starts rocking back and forth and is about to pop off, it’s time to let off that steam.
Physiologically, you almost can’t help yourself. The need to expunge yourself of your anger, your grief at being let down – yes, it is a form of grief – your disappointment, et al, is so strong, you look for an outlet.
And you do it in the most natural way known. You tell someone else about your horrible experience. Because “a burden shared is a sorrow spared.”
And if they’re letting off steam about you, your company, or your products, you’re in trouble.
Because the beat of the tom-toms goes from village to village to village to village.
Regardless of the truth, mud sticks.
50% of people will always believe the story. 50% will judge for themselves. Take Lindy Chamberlain. Despite being cleared of charges of killing her baby, Azaria, a proportion of the population still thinks she’s guilty.
What can you do to soften the beat of the tom-toms?
Make sure you fix any problems your customer has immediately and to the complete satisfaction of your customer. It’s as simple as that.
By thinking of your customer first, you’re also putting your best foot forward and selflessly guarding the one thing money can’t buy. Your good reputation.
For example.
My partner is Victor Pleshev. His mother, Rita, is 81 and lives with us on our 54 hectare rural property, but in her own home. 6 years ago she decided she’d like to buy a bread maker and bake bread for us. It’s one of her ways to say thank you to us for caring for her.
In 2002, there was only one department store in my region. Myer’s in Bathurst NSW.
With her son, Victor, in tow, and after much discussion with the sales assistant, she decided on a Breville bread maker. And the top of the range. Rita only buys quality.
In 2002 she was 75 years old and although not frail, definitely not robust.
Not being strong enough to pull a plough is a problem for her and her bread maker.
When the bread’s ready, she’s never able to get it out of the bucket. She always has to ring her son and ask him to come down and do the job. And even he sometimes struggles to get the bread out.
After several months of this, Victor rang Breville to say there was a problem with the bread maker. As it was still under warranty, they asked it to be sent back to them to be fixed. The delivery to them was at our expense.
Victor was astonished to receive a call from the Service Manager to be told there is nothing wrong with the bread maker.
A discussion ensues about his mother, her age and a comment about her being more on the frail side rather than robust.
The Service Manager points out the model she purchased is unsuitable for her and acknowledges there are problems with releasing the bread for someone who is frail.
As the bread maker is still under warranty, and the Service Manager acknowledges the bread maker is unsuitable for her, Victor asks if it’s possible to replace it with a model that is more suitable for her.
Absolutely not, comes the reply. Breville isn’t responsible for customers’ not choosing correctly.
Another discussion follows about whose responsibility is it? Is it Rita’s responsibility to know what’s best for her? Or Breville’s or Myer’s?
It’s Myer’s responsibility, he replies. They sold her something that isn’t right for her. Take it up with them.
What does Myer’s say?
Not their problem.
It’s not up to us to know the physical capability of a customer. Anyway, they say, they don’t advise, they just point out the differences between products and brands.
Victor points out that at no time was it mentioned to his mother that bread was harder to get out of the model she purchased as compared to others.
Myer’s reply?
We’re not aware of that. Take it up with Breville.
Myer’s closed down in Bathurst NSW before we could vote with our feet and not make any more purchases from them. They left us with K-Mart which is now Target.
Breville?
Breville asked us to pay to get the bread maker returned to us. In the opinion of the Service Manager, as there is nothing wrong with it, Breville isn’t obligated to pay for its return.
Rita still uses her bread maker and curses it every time. What else does that do? It reinforces her resolve to never again buy Breville.
Think about that. Every week, she’s reminded by Breville, to never buy another Breville product!
As a family, we no longer buy any products made by Breville. That’s not going to put them out of business. But when I see someone eyeing off a Breville product, I can’t help myself. I relate my experience with the bread maker. And then let the customer make their own decision.
How many times have you been the customer caught in the middle between the manufacturer/service and the retailer/service provider? And how many times have you been the loser?
Never forget how you felt. Because that’s precisely how your customer feels.
Listen to this.
Whatever the cost is to you to rectify a problem to the complete satisfaction of your customer, it’s never as great as the price you pay, when they start blabbing about you to all and sundry, and in as many public forums as possible, about how you let them down.
Read that paragraph again.
Anger and disappointment are real and palpable emotions. And the prime movers that drive people to bad mouth you.
How much would it have cost Breville to replace Rita’s bread maker? A pittance compared to the nuisance caused by an unhappy, disappointed customer and her family who look for opportunities to relate their experience.
Listen to this again. If a customer comes to you with a problem, fix it to their complete satisfaction. If you don’t, I guarantee you they’ll create opportunities to rip you to shreds.
Take it from this Guerrilla From The Bush, idle chatter always matters. And you need to know when to attack and when to give a hug. Do you?
Take care,
Carol
