Losing Customers Before You Get Them
"Never underestimate the power of the
irate customer.."
--Joel E. Ross
Normally, I prefer to focus on the positive,
finding examples of excellent customer
service that can stand as shining
illustrations for all of us in our own
dealings with the people we depend on for our
livelihood. However, something happened to
my son that eclipsed my positive energy.
My son, his wife, and my grandson are getting
ready to move to Illinois (yes, I will miss
them terribly!) and he received a check that
he needed to cash. Since time is short,
rather than depositing the check at his bank,
he went to the bank that the check was drawn on.
How to Lose a Potential Customer
Because my son did not have an account at that
bank, he was informed that there would be a
$5.00 fee for cashing the check. He was
shocked. When he asked the teller what the
fee was for, he was informed that it was
because he was not a customer of the bank.
The teller suggested, in an unpleasant tone,
that he could deposit the check at his own
bank if he didn't want to pay the charge. He
agreed to the $5.00 charge and was about to
get his money when the bank manager came up
and asked him if he wanted to open an
account, because it would save him $5.00. My
son explained to the manager that he didn't
want to do business with a bank that would
not honor the amount written on a check drawn
on that bank.
To be honest, I don't know if my own bank
charges a fee to non-customers. I plan to
find out. Charging someone a fee to honor a
check seems like overreaching and just plain
greed to me.
It wasn't just the fee that bothered me,
though. What put me over the edge was the
not-so-skillful attempt to sign a new
customer after having treated that potential
customer badly.
I treat my customers very well because I
don't want to lose them. I don't believe
they are always right, but I do understand
that without their good will, I can't be
successful in my business. I also know that
anyone I meet can be a potential customer and
it doesn't take much to make that
"not-yet-customer" into "never-a-customer."
Worse yet, it takes little more to get that
"never-a-customer" to share negative information.
The Real Power
The good news is that as customers, we have
the ability to reward businesses that do the
right thing. We can do business with
companies that treat everyone, both existing
and potential customers, with respect.
For those of you who were wondering, the bank
was Chase. I will be calling my bank today
to find out what its policy is. Depending on
the answer, I may be looking for a new bank.
(If you know of a bank that honors the full
amount on checks written on its accounts, let
me know.)
