I recently found a eulogy my father had written for a family friend and colleague who he originally met when they both worked for Kurt Salmon Associates; a highly successful independent Management Consultancy founded in 1935 and as of 2016, part of Accenture.
According to the eulogy Kurt Salmon’s tenet for the business was “Always deliver more than you’ve promised and put the client’s interests first. The bottom line will then take care of itself.” And I suggest that you write these words up high … whatever your role, because you most definitely have clients even if they work for the same company as you.
It’s my belief that when you work for the benefit of those you serve and put their interest’s first, not only does it have an effect on the bottom line but it also makes your job easier.
For example: A customer can’t get hold of you to complain. It may feel like a win in that you don’t have to listen to the complaint … but when they do get through to you, they will be angrier, will want more to compensate and will probably escalate it, so many more people become involved … directly affecting the bottom line (and your conversation is harder than it would have been).
Or: A customer rings to give you the information you asked for. Having been passed to two different people you then keep them on hold for that bit too long when your phone system cuts them off. You didn’t take their number first and they don’t bother calling back; you now spend more time and money trying to get hold of them again … directly affecting the bottom line and reducing your productivity.
Or: A lady in a wheelchair can’t get off the train because the assistance they have booked to help them doesn’t turn up. They have to crawl off the train to get where they need to be and your company reputation takes a hit … directly affecting the bottom line and creating yet more internal meetings as you scramble to find out what happened.
You get my point I’m sure … all of the above have happened in the last week but they aren’t unusual. All three companies involved have ended up working more to resolve the problem that not delivering (even what they promised, let alone more) and putting their client’s interests first, created.
Costly mistakes like these are happening every day and often the higher up the company hierarchy you are, the less you know until it’s too late. So, if you don’t know and would like an audit of your customer interactions, get in touch.
