The Cab Driver Who Should be an MBA Lecturer

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I was in the cab when the uncle asked me if I wanted to turn on the radio. I was surprised, and told him that rarely do cab drivers ask such questions. He then told me that it was important to ask, cause some drivers play songs that they understand (in their ethnic language) but their passengers don’t. In his words:

“Wait (Later) the customers not (won’t be) happy, we also not (too won’t be) happy, wait (eventually) both rugi(won’t benefit).”

I’ve decided to make a customer creed, and share this with all you out there who do businesses or produce products and services:

Dear businessman, I don’t know who you are. I forgot where I put away your namecard, or what you said you did. But I see what you do now, and I wish you could just listen to me. The thing is, your ads with spelling errors and blurry graphics get on my nerves. You’re at places and times when I don’t need you. And I have no idea what that service is supposed to do to me, or why I should even care. You say i do, but your arguments sound like any other. I am busy, and you are boring. If you provided some feedback channel, I could give it to you. But you don’t respond to criticisms well. You say I don’t provide solutions, so I’ll stop there, and hence I won’t. So most of the time, I don’t bother to talk to you at all. I am the customer. You don’t matter. I’ll go to the other guy, and bring my friends with me.

Now dear businesspeople, here’s yours:

Dear customer, I know your name. I wish to listen to you. You’ve spotted an error, and I need customers like you to tell us how to serve you better. If we were in your shoes, we’d be pissed too. We are different, which is why we are busy. Yet we will make time for you. I will talk to you personally if you want to. You will be rewarded if your feedback gets implemented. If it’s not, we will let you know why. I am at your service. We hope to matter to you, because you matter to us.

And business people, don’t tell me it’s unrealistic. It’s a mindset, that will not cost you much to change, but will cost you lots in the long run if you don’t wake up your idea.

–

PS: In honour of that cab driver, who did not have the above creed printed on some fancy gold plated sign hanging at his customer desk and yet could communicate these in a few lines of a cab ride.

Articles you might also like:

• Don’t Be a Prima Donna With Customers
• Mee Goreng Fly Me to The Moon
• Silly Promotions Copywriting
• Why You Should Work For Others
• When Does a Counter Count?