Donna Flagg

Your Business: Don't Succumb to Bad Energy
February 22, 2008

It’s amazing. It seems that no matter how it comes up, when I mention the word “Verizon” everyone has the same reaction. They clearly share my pain - they moan, they groan, they roll their eyes and ultimately there is a horrifying tale of debauchery and customer abuse that follows.   What is that, I wonder? How does a company go about creating so much dread among its customers that the customers themselves would do anything to avoid having to deal with them? Even the employees complain about how unpleasant a place it is. I have to imagine that this can’t be good for business.   Then I think about companies like American Express where they treat their customers with respect and consideration, and where the customer experience is the antithesis of what I experienced when I recently attempted to get new phone lines. So what makes one company so able, competent and cordial on one hand and a different company so incapable of creating a positive customer experience on the other?

Well, after watching organizations for years and years fruitlessly try to adapt behaviors, change cultures, train employees, improve management techniques, alter communication styles, implement technology and fix everything else in between, I’ve come to believe that something else is at work, something more elusive, but persistent, than any of these things. Think about it. Every organization possesses a certain type of energy – a mood that touches each one of its customers and employees.  You know it, you feel it and you see it, the minute you walk in the door. It’s a vibe, that if negative is sure to alienate people, and if it’s positive it will draw them in. It’s that simple.

Posted by Donna Flagg on February 22, 2008 | Comments (0)