Know-How Exchange : Customer Behavior

As you said, it's memorized, so it's in their minds. And if it's your customer's mind, you can either accept that fact and "play ball," or you can let your competitors do it for you.

The choice is yours.

You're no rookie, so you know that companies tend to do what's best for the company over the long haul, financially speaking, of course. If they make a favorable return for a customer, or give them a free meal, they are banking on it paying off down the road.

However, I'll venture to say that not every retailer is as accommodating as you make out. If you yell in a store or otherwise act an ass, you're more likely to be asked to leave or have the cops called than you are to get free apple pie.

As for our business, we fire customers now and again. Even if they are profitable, sometimes they're just not pleasant to work with, and life's too short.

Curious ... having a bad Monday? ;)

Paul

Well, in the examples you just gave, those are the rants of people who are frustrated.

We always tell employees that if someone raises their voice or curses, the call should be transferred to me immediately. If the attitude stays intact, I explain that we're under no obligation to be yelled at or cursed at, and that I'll be more than happy to pick this conversation up when the mood has changed. Until then, "Click."

I feel ya Blaine,

IMHO there are no consumer rights (well the legal ones, yes). The idea of a consumer right is really a CONSUMER WISH. The consumer wishes to be treated as well as their best experience ever, every time. The only RIGHT the consumer has is to not buy, to walk out of a place, to say something, or ….


That said, I found the following indicators of rights for your amusement.


This "Bill of Rights" says a consumer has
· the right to have access to mortgage credit,
· the right to the lowest-cost mortgage for which the consumer can qualify,
· the right to know the true cost of a mortgage,
· the right to be free of regulatory burden, and
· the right to know what is behind a lender's mortgage decision.

https://www.fanniemae.com/initiatives/consumerrights.jhtml?p=Initiatives



From your cable company:
(1) Consumers should expect a fair deal from their local cable company, with reasonable rates that fairly reflect the costs of doing business.
(2) Consumers should expect an explanation from their cable companies whenever rates for the programming service tier are raised, particularly when cable companies attribute price rises to increases in the cost of obtaining programming.
(3) Consumers are entitled to write or call their cable companies whenever they have complaints about the cable services being provided on the various channels, or about program cost increases, and they should expect a speedy response.
https://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1999/nrmc9015.html



A Consumer's Bill of Rights


All consumers of services offered by New York licensed professionals
have the legal right to. . . .

Receive competent professional services.

Verify the credentials of licensed professionals and to know the names and titles of licensed professionals who provide service.

Receive clear explanations of the services being offered or provided and how much they cost.

Refuse any services offered.

Know what client records will be maintained and how to obtain copies; personnally identifiable information normally cannot be revealed without the consumer's consent.

File a complaint with the State Education Department about a licensed professional or an unlicensed practitioner.

If you are a person with a disability, you may request and be provided a reasonable accommodation to access professional services.

https://www.op.nysed.gov/rights.htm


What is the Equifax Consumer Bill of Rights?
Equifax believes that consumers should have the following rights:
· The right to be considered for credit, insurance, employment and other benefits on your own merits, based on your record of actions and performances.
· The right to be treated with respect and fairness whenever information about you is used.
· The right to privacy consistent with the requests and demands you make of business.
· The right to have your applications for benefits or opportunities evaluated on the basis of relevant and accurate information.
· The right to know what information has been provided about you for consumer reporting purposes.
· The right to know what consumer data is being maintained about you and to be able to review the information in a reasonable time, at a charge that is not excessive, in a format that is understandable, and with an ability to challenge and correct inaccurate information.
· The right to expect that information about you that is collected or stored for consumer reporting purposes will not be used for unanticipated purposes without notice or consent appropriate to the circumstances.
· The right to expect levels of accuracy consistent with sound practices of record keeping and information systems management.
· The right to have information about you safeguarded through secure storage, confidential handling within the organization, and careful transmittal to authorized and legitimate users.


https://www.mindspring.com/~mdeeb/equifax/cc/faqs/credit/rights.html


may the buyer beware,

- Steve

Hi Blaine,

I think it is very simple, it is has to do with our economic system.

Since I believe you are talking about the United States, we are of course a capitalistic society. Capitalism, besides the traditional economic definition, is also a social system based on the principle of individual rights.

Furthermore, the economic doctrine in force here is the laissez-faire school of thought that holds that capitalism is best left to its own devices — that it will dispense with inefficiencies in a more deliberate and quick manner than any legislating body could.

Thus, in our capitalistic society it is pervasively held by us as individuals that these inefficiencies are therefore unacceptable, because we have a "right" to an efficient marketplace and that all business should be strive for maximum efficiencies or they will no longer be in business.

Anyway, that's my quick theory.....anything deeper is beyond the scope of this forum for me.

Blaine...

You've opened up something on this one, haven't you?!

Here's my twopennyworth...

In any society, someone who has "rights" implies that someone else must have "obligations", otherwise that society is out of balance.

So, if my customers have rights, my business has obligations towards those customers. Now, does my business also have rights? If so (and I believe that it does), my customers have obligations towards me.

How about we collaborate on writing the book entitled "Customer Obligations"!

Bob

Regarding -- “Marshall Field (the man). HE told them that the customer is always right”

I think the statement [paraphrased, can’t recall author] --
“nobody has ever been successful by making the customer wrong” -- is more true and accurate for marketing purposes. It’s not about customer rights, it’s about a business decision to match customer’s expectations with customer’s experiences in a for-profit environment.

Hopefully not splitting hairs here,

- Steve