Once upon a time, the beloved king of a tiny country with a very hard-to-pronounce name ventured outside of his palace to observe his subjects. Farmlands, blacksmith shops and carpenters were pleased to see His Majesty taking an interest in their trade.
While visiting a marketplace, with shopkeepers hawking their wares, he saw a young man sitting idly by strumming a lute. The king listened for a while and looked around at the shop. He found a rose-colored glass container that interested him, and asked the shopkeeper about it.
“Young sir, may I ask how you came to have this magnificent specimen in your inventory?”
Unfortunately, the shopkeeper could not be bothered from his lute.
The king asked him again. “Where did you find such an exquisite piece of merchandise?”
The shopkeeper’s face belied his annoyance. Could this rude man not see that I am making music? “A traveling caravan brought it from the East.” He went back to his strumming.
“I must have it. How much will you take for it?”
Seconds pass.
“I say, what is the price on this work of art?”
After being ignored, the king tossed the vessel onto the other goods in the shop. The shattering sound snapped the shopkeeper from his trance, and he bellowed, “That cost me a year’s wages!” And he lunged at the king.
Promptly arrested and thrown in the dungeon, the shopkeeper remains imprisoned to this day. He is without his lute, and without his shop. He has not seen his wife and children in thirteen years.
Ok – maybe that last part was a little extreme. But the truth is, those experiences occur every day. The Bluetooth headset, the Facebook, the casual conversation… Our visits to the store are quite often frustrating events where the customer – the very reason that place is in business – is relegated to mere annoyance.
A customer is a person who works very hard for their money. They research what they will spend their money on – after all, there is not a whole lot of it to go around. They compare the items they will buy, and they consider the places from which they will buy. They talk about their experiences with their friends – and with total strangers on social media. They are king.
And the king better be the most important part of your day. More important than your Facebook. More important than that personal phone call. And, managers, the king should be more important than your meetings and metrics.
What does the king say about your place of business? What does he king think of the appearance and cleanliness? What about the services? Many kings will drive past a place with poor service to spend more money at a place with better service.
Remember why you have a job. Remember why you are in business. Remember the King.
Mysteries of Customer Service 