Robin's Diary

Voting, with an X or with your feet!

As the press give Covid a back seat this week and focus on elections, it’s a good time to look at how the public have voted with their feet, not just an X.

In business we don’t get an X in the box.  We are measured by consumers deciding who they want to give their hard earned money to. In politics, we elect who we want to spend our money, and who will decide how much they want from us, or give to us. In business and in politics, success is being in the game for the long term, hence customer service in business must be at the core of everything we do. If the experience is good that may be OK, but if the experience exceeds your expectations, more than likely customers will return.

Unlike in politics where it is the major policies that make the difference, in customer service it’s often the little things that make the difference. The waiter who remembers you from last time, the bar man who remembers your usual drink, the hairdresser remembering you were going on holiday etc  Sadly, all too often, people think it’s about material things which need to be good, but  let’s face it, there is no point having the best building, interior, chairs, signs etc if the service doesn’t match - all that happens is your customers will vote with their feet, and the business, just like defeated politicians, will disappear and be forgotten.       

“People have choices. They are going to vote with their feet.” Tom Perez