Customers First!

Peter F. Drucker, who died in 2005 at age 95, is often called the world’s most influential business guru, because his thinking transformed corporate management. I liked his teachings simply because he had a way of cutting through the bull and telling it the way it is. I particularly respect one of his most repeated statements, which he made 50 years ago: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create and retain a customer.”

Recently, I wondered what this great teacher would have said to the manager at a golf resort where I had the misfortune of trying to play 18 holes (in Arizona during peak vacation season, by the way). I had stopped by the resort the day before to set up my tee time and confirm the fees. The next morning when I arrived, I was told a different—and much higher—fee.

Apparently, this resort charges different fees to residents and nonresidents (which I had not been told the day before), yet it didn’t have a clear definition of “resident.” Even though I pointed out to the manager that I owned a home and paid taxes there, she insisted that I was “really not a resident.”

As I stood in the pro shop overlooking the nearly empty parking lot while discussing the matter, I decided to walk away from the resort, never to go back again. At that point, it wasn’t about the higher fee; it was about the principle of customer service and doing what’s right to make your customers feel happy, loyal, and valuable. And that resort’s managers just didn’t understand that principle, so I didn’t want to give them my business.

As this economic recession drags on and continues to make consumers reluctant to part with their ever more precious dollars, the biggest differentiator between those companies that survive and those that don’t will be providing customers with a positive buying experience.

There was a reason why that Arizona golf resort’s parking lot was empty, while other lots were nearly full. Especially in today’s world, consumers are only willing to spend where they believe they are getting real value and are realizing a positive experience; they will choose to go elsewhere when they don’t.

Most of you probably have had unpleasant customer service experiences recently: the grumpy flight attendant who barked at you to take your seat (so that you could sit at the gate or on the tarmac for another one to two hours); the snarly waiter who didn’t greet you to the restaurant and tried to make you feel like he was doing you a favor by waiting on you; the cranky auto mechanic who did unauthorized repairs and insisted on getting paid or he wouldn’t release your car.