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So... We’re Number One?

Great. But I’m not sure I want you to treat me like family.

Bill Kalmar
Thu, 04/07/2022 - 12:02
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For years, when I was the director of the Michigan Quality Council during Gov. John Engler’s administration, we reviewed businesses across the state and looked for world-class service. What we found was that meeting and exceeding the expectations of customers was of paramount importance. And companies who practiced that stood head and shoulders above other companies.

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Having said that, I marvel at the ads that herald “Customers are No. 1,” or “We treat you like family.” In my mind, aren’t these just givens? I would hope that as customers we’re the No. 1 when we come into a store or order something online. That seems rather logical. So why do companies have to advertise it? Just wondering.

Then there’s the comment about us being treated like family. Now let me be a bit critical here. I guess it would be nice to be treated like family if we all had the typical Ozzie and Harriet family. But I suspect that isn’t always the case. Thus, are we sure we want to be treated like our family? Again, just wondering.

 …

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Comments

Submitted by Steve65 on Thu, 04/07/2022 - 05:27

Talk is cheap

In my opinion, 99% of the companies who spout such stuff as "we treat you like family" or "customers are #1" or, my personal favorite, "our people are our most important resource" are lying, and they know it.  Their actions are as far from their words as those marketing pictures of the food at fast-food restaurants are from what the food actually looks like. 

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Submitted by Bill Sproat on Thu, 04/07/2022 - 12:53

In reply to Talk is cheap by Steve65

Agreed!

The old saying still holds true:  "if they have to tell you, it's not"

As in a package label saying "High Quality!"  If it's really high quality, they wouldn't have to say it - people would already know.

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