MSNBC’s Redtape Chonicles blog (“CEOs Think Customer Service is Great") stirred up a lot of disgruntled customers today, by reporting that 75% of CEOs surveyed think their companies deliver “above-average” service. Apparently CEOs live on a different planet from their customers. At The Phelon Group we believe that 90% of all company ills can be cured by listening to customers. When companies hit revenue barriers and stop growing the way they want, customers have the answers--if only companies will listen with an open mind and commit themselves to act on what they hear. Most of the hundreds of commenters to the Redtape Chronicles blog seem to consider bad service a strategic decision on the part of the companies they deal with to disrespect them. Our experience is that companies often do care--they just don’t have the discipline and systems in place to listen, identify high-impact actions, and close the communication loop with their customers. And companies we work with are often surprised at how little some of the most effective corrective actions end up costing.

Paula Stout, VP Client Services
paula.stout@phelongroup.com