The BIGG Successs Show
Customer Disservice: Policies That Repel Customers
The #1 and the #2 ways that businesses flush money down the toilet. Read our show summary at BIGGSUCCESS.COM.
- Welcome to The Big Success Show. Today, we'll talk about customer disservice, policies that repel customers. (crowd cheering) - The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. - I was in Chicago recently, and I had to use the restroom to put it delicately, I guess, Mary Lynn, and I still think that's right. And I saw this little hot dog place, and I thought, well, it's a little bit early, but shoot, I'll just grab a dog for lunch, and then I can use their bathroom. So I walked up to the door, and I noticed a sign. The sign said, "No public restrooms." So I stopped, looked around, noticed there was a McDonald's down the street, and guess what I did? I went to McDonald's. - But George, you can't get a good old Chicago dog in McDonald's. - Well, that's true, but, you know, I could get a good cup of coffee and keep the recycling thing going, right? - Yeah. - The thing is, I didn't really care about the hot dog. What I cared about was the restroom, but I just don't like to use someone's restroom without giving them a little bit of business. - Doing the business at the business, right? - Well, some people don't think that way, George, and they'll just use the bathroom and leave. So I can see why a business would want to discourage it, but it seems to me that the hot dog place could change their sign to public restrooms for patrons only. - Well, and Mary Lynn, I kind of hate to admit this, but unfortunately, this is one of those lessons I learned the hard way. - Really? - Yeah, one of my earliest businesses was a Ben Franklin story, the old five and dime, and we didn't have a sign up saying no bathrooms, but we still didn't really let anyone use it. - You jerk. - That's right. And every year, there was this one particular day where our community would hold this big community sale, and we'd get tons of traffic that day. Many, of course, needing to use the bathroom. And I remember people would come in and ask if they could use the bathroom, and we'd say no, and they would walk right out. We hadn't served their immediate need, right? So why wouldn't they keep going? So I changed our policy, and we didn't necessarily promote that we had restrooms, but if someone asked, we'd say sure. - Well, good for you. - Well, thank you. - And did you end up regretting that decision? - No, in fact, I noticed that most people did give us some business, and it really didn't create that much significant work. - Well, this whole discussion makes me think of the book, our toilets are not for customers. - I'll bet it does. What a great title. - I know, it's a great book, too, by Floyd Coates, and he tells the story about shopping for light fixtures. His house had been severely damaged by a tornado, so he had to buy lights for his new house. So he went to a lighting store, was about halfway done with his list, and it already selected about $2,000 worth of merchandise when he suddenly got the call of nature. - Oh, did it ring or did it vibrate? Well, it made enough of a sensation that he had to ask a clerk for their bathroom. And she said, "Our toilets are not for customers." - Oh, hence the title of the book. - And to add salt on the wound, she actually told him that there's another place you can go to the bathroom two blocks down the street. - Meanwhile, this guy's carting around all of this merchandise. - Well, they've got it all up at the front. Anyway, he left to go to the bathroom and never came back. They did not get a dime out of him. - Well, it just seems to me that keeping a policy, like that that's costing you thousands of dollars, sticking with it is just like flushing money down the toilet. - Oh, there it goes. Look at that, not coming back. And coming up, since you brought this up, George, we'll look at the number one and the number two ways that businesses flush money down the toilet. - Today, we're talking about customer service. And I guess, Marilyn, I'd have to say that's not the only theme so far today. (laughing) But specifically, we're talking about customer service policies. And the ones we've talked about have all kind of revolved around the use of the restroom, right? One of the best lessons I ever got on this whole subject of customer service and policy creation came from one of my college professors, actually. This guy actually became one of my mentors. And he said something that I'll never forget. He said most policies are created for 3% of the people. The exceptions, rather than the 97% who are responsible for your success. So the number one way a business can flush money down the toilet. - There it goes. - Is to create policies for 3% of their customers. For example, the hot dog place you mentioned earlier, George. Probably only 3% of their customers would use their bathroom without doing business with them. - Seems fair. - And yet all of their customers are affected by this policy. - That's right. And number two, businesses create policies for 3% of their employees. Let's just call them the renegades, right? And then the rest of their employees, the 97% suffer for it. The result is lower morale among all the employees, because they feel like they're being punished for something they didn't do, right? And that leads to lower productivity. And you know what that means? It's just like flushing money down the toilet. - Look at it go round and round. Of course, we've only talked about one policy, but this 3% rule is a good thing to think about before making any policy decision that affects customers or employees. - And there are so many examples of this. You know, we could go on and on and on, but you know, just think of for yourself, what have you seen as a customer or as an employee? - Feel free to leave a comment on our site today at bigsuccess.com. That's also where we have a written summary of today's show. And the link to that great book, our toilets are not for customers. - Yes, you'll be bold over by it. Next time, we're gonna talk about going into business with a friend. Until then, here's to your big success. - The big success show at B-I-G-G Success.com. (upbeat music) [Music]