It occurred to me that rain and customers have a lot in common.
Rain is required to sustain physical life. Customers are required to sustain corporate life.
We want rain on our terms, when it’s convenient, so that it does not interfere with our plans. In business, we’d prefer that customers arrive on time and prepared, so as not to disrupt our operations.
Weathermen track weather patterns in attempts to accurately forecast rain. Revenue managers monitor consumer trends in order to anticipate customer demand.
Rain is taken for granted—unless it’s in short supply. Similarly, customers are treated indifferently—unless they’re in short supply.
We try to shield ourselves from the rain using raincoats and umbrellas. Many businesses attempt to ward off customers by using barriers such as elaborate phone trees and terms and conditions that insulate them from responsibility.
Over the years, humans have tried to influence the rain by using a rain dance whereas companies have long tried to manipulate customers by using a song and dance.
I could go on but you get the idea.
It’s ironic to me that many companies use terms like “guest” and “partner” to convey the intimacy they have with their customers but the reality is that most employees, when given the opportunity, do not behave as though they are serving a valued guest.
Instead, many of the frontline employees I observe appear to be simply going through the motions—treating each customer like the last customer. And so on…
This may explain why 68 percent of consumers surveyed claimed to have quit doing business with a company due to perceived indifference towards them as customers.
Just like rain, we recognize the value of customers but then try to elude them.
I’ve tapped my Irish roots in order to craft the following limerick:
Customers, they are like rain:
An aggravation that many distain.
The irony the two share,
Is that, unless they are rare,
About them, most will complain.
And lastly, here’s something else I noticed: After much rain, a rainbow appears. After many customers, a pot of gold appears.
Mmm… Maybe there is something to that Irish myth?
