What can consumer's expect from your business?

I realize this post is coming out during the stressful holiday shopping season and that every business is vying for your hard earned dollars to try to make a profit so they can continue to stay in business. They are in the business of exchanging their services/merchandise for your money.

What do you give them in return besides your money? Are you a loyal customer?

 Have you helped this business decrease advertising by sharing your positive experiences or have you caused them to increase their prices due to higher advertising costs because of your failure to support them?

Less than 100 years ago many areas of this country had few choices when it came to shopping. Most of our country was still developing, few choices were available, you could go to the local general store and get everything from flour to the latest fashion (kinda like wal-marts of their time).

What are the store’s doing now to create an experience that makes you want to happily, willingly part with your money?

How is their customer service, do you feel welcome in their business or are you just a wallet and a paycheck for someone? Do employers realize how important their front line employees are?

I am posing these questions as I have read survey after survey of customer’s complaining about poor shopping experiences, and stores complaining about consumer’s only looking for bargains and not caring about the customer experience.

Who is right? Is one group right and the other wrong>

Are we not ALL customers of some business?

For each of us that have a job, do we not deal with at least one other person that is depending on our skill to promote the business we are affiliated with that provides us with a paycheck?

Why are we saying one thing as a customer and then something different when we are at work providing “customer service”?

How is one experience so different from the other? What, if anything can be done differently to change the outcome?

Well, what outcome do you wish to have?

Do you want your children to have the same experiences you have had as a consumer, as an employee?

Who is responsible for the current state of consumer experiences?

Who is responsible for the current state of employee experiences?

Don’t you dare tell me it is the governments fault.

But let’s have a clean, real discussion, working towards the goal of improving relations between business owners/employees/consumers.