I have concluded that the vast majority of companies today either do not agree with and/or do not care about and/or are clueless about how to implement the above Renee’s Rule™.   There is a good chance you have reached the same conclusion.  It has become incredibly difficult to get anything done.  The simplest tasks have become complicated.

There seems to be widespread recognition that being nice is an important part of customer service, but the other piece–making things easy for customers–has somehow been lost in translation.  Personally,  what this customer wants/needs is for the companies I deal with to make life really EASY for me.  What do you want/need?

As you may have guessed, this post is the result of a my experiencing a  spate of bad (abysmal) customer service over the last few weeks.  Everyone is NICE; nothing gets DONE--or gets done only with much wasting of time…..I know that you, too,  have “been there; done that;” e.g.,

1. You are required to enter your phone number to get to tech support, but the first thing the person asks is, “May I have your phone number?”
2. You call for repair help.  You provide a description of your problem in infinite detail, but the details somehow do not survive the distance between customer service and the people who actually do the repair work, and it takes forever to get the problem solved.

I understand that many of the  companies we call could not care less about whether they are wasting our time…but do they have so many customers, and are they making so much money that they don’t want to improve their bottom lines by streamlining their customer service?   Think of all the personnel time and $ that would be saved if no one had to ask, “May I have your telephone number?” or if the technical person “on-the-ground” received enough detail from customer service to solve the problem on the first try.

Enough complaining for one day–you can tell I’ve had too much TERRIBLE customer service from too many NICE people….It may be time for a new Renee’s Rule™: Enough is enough!”

In future posts, I’ll share some examples from my personal experience about how companies can reduce costs AND provide better customer service.

Both national and regional bankers have told me recently that they expect a second wave of troubled companies…..For those companies that may be at risk, here are my key recommendations:

1. Renee’s Rule™: Don’t sell to customers who won’t pay.
2. Prepare worst-cast cash projections for each of the coming 6 months; if necessary, take action now to prevent a meltdown.
3. Solicit ideas from employees and advisors; implement those that will have the greatest impact in the shortest time.
4. Implement changes to company processes that will lower costs and improve customer service.
5. Renee’s Rule™:  If you think you may need help, you probably do.
6. Renee’s Rule™: The sooner, the better.

When I’ve abandoned almost all hope of ever finding good customer service anywhere ever again, I stop by Pearl Ace Hardware to reassure myself that there IS actually ONE place that really “gets it.”

Pearl Ace Hardware may be the best store on the planet. On-line reviews reflect this, and all of my friends and neighbors feel the same way.  I’ll bet that this is one retailer that  is profitable  in spite of the downturn.

Why? Because this store truly understands the marketing equation:

Renee’s Rule™:  Providing what your customers want/need + great customer service = loyal customers +  steady stream of revenue.

They ALWAYS have what I need.  They ALWAYS have knowledgeable, friendly staff available to help.   No problem finding what I seek; no trouble finding someone to answer questions; no long check-out lines; no surly clerks.   It is Customer Service Heaven on Earth!

When I check out, I inevitably find myself saying to the clerk, “I just love this store!”   (And trust me, Reader, I am P-I-C-K-Y.)

Some retailers compete by having the largest selection of merchandise–being a “one-stop-shop.”

Some compete by having great “customer service”–being super-nice to customers.

Too many businesses have neither; too few manage to have both.

If every cloud really does have a silver lining, perhaps the silver lining of this downturn will be that we will see a return to first-rate customer service.  After all, survival may depend on it.

Renee’s Rule™:  There is a connection between customer service and sales.

If you know me, you know I love being right, but lately, I wish I weren’t right so often.

When The Oregonian, interviewing me for a story about the Joe’s bankruptcy, asked whether I thought Joe’s could survive and/or might be sold to another company, I said, “No.”  Yesterday, Joe’s started liquidating.

The evaporation of so many retailers is a scenario being repeated too often for three key reasons:

1. Many retail operations operate with thin profit margins–or no profit margins–so when sales decline, the retailers simply have no (forgive the pun) margin for error.
2. Many retail operations have no raison d’etre–no reason for being–no strategy that separates them from their competitors, no strategy for meeting changing consumer needs.
3. Too often, good customer service is missing in action.  Poor customer service can result in lost sales, and few companies today can afford to lose those sales.

Perhaps, as a result of the current economic environment, we will see a return to good customer service.  I’d really like to be right about that!