I have a pretty strategic view of customer service: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Last week something happened to illustrate just how damaging it can be when you screw this up.

 

About 15 years ago, while at Xerox, I took over a territory consisting of commercial and quick printers. Just as I started, one of the franchise printers went out of business. Basically, he just locked his doors and walked away leaving the equipment in place. He did not sell his franchise but a brand new owner with the same franchise name moved into the location. Understandably, the new owner wanted the other company’s equipment removed so he could set up for business. But try as I might (those of you who know me know that means a whole lot of trying and a whole lot of creativity trying to solve the problem), I could not get Xerox to pick up the equipment. It seems the previous company had defaulted on their lease agreement and until that dispute was settled, they could not or would not pick up the equipment. It didn’t seem to matter that the lessee was no place to be found and not likely to make good on the lease payments, especially now that he had shut his doors. Finally, the owner of the new business moved the equipment out into the alley. He took a picture of it next to the dumpster, pinned it to his bulletin board and talked about it to anyone who would listen. I was known as the Xerox rep that went back on her word or the Xerox rep that couldn’t get anything done.

 

Flash forward 15 years. I am presenting at the national conference of owners for this franchise and guess who is in the audience? And what’s the first thing he says to me? You guessed it, “Remember when you didn’t pick up that machine and I had to put it out in the alley?”

 

I facilitate a peer group of business owners and the topic of competitive advantage comes up a lot. We have been talking about this for years but when the economy was chugging along, the owners would acknowledge it was important but rebuff any attempts on my part to get them to actually define or develop some.

Not surprisingly, many of these same owners are now discussing ways to cut costs so they can maintain profitability while the economy flounders. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had they developed some sustainable competitive advantages while the economy was hot. Would they have been even more profitable? Would they have narrowed their focus and developed some real expertise in a few markets that would be especially valuable to businesses in those markets today? Would they have streamlined or invested in their operations strategically so they could maintain their competitive advantage and offer a service that provided a high ROI for customers who are scrutinizing every decision in a struggling economy?
What do you think?