But do customers really come first? If you ask most companies, they are all on board. Nobody ever says they put their customers last. No one readily admits that customers are a necessary evil. Few people ever come straight and say that almost every business decision they make is all about sales and never about customers. Or maybe they do.
Ten Ways Companies Say Customers Come Last.1. Rewriting return policies for products to include a restock fee.
2. Selling sales data to third-party marketers without oversight.
3. Employing aggressive telemarketing firms to sell.
4. Rewriting the terms of service to fit the needs of the company.
5. Delaying customers just to sell plus service with no benefit.
6. Creating hidden fees in order to advertise at a lower price.
7. Loading up websites with pop-ups and email capture forms.
8. Engaging in black hat SEO tactics to boost search engine relevancy.
9. Making promises on the front end and renegotiating on the back end.
10. Cutting staff or corners that directly improves profits while diminishing customer service.
Companies make decisions that put their customers last every day. So why do they insist on saying they put customers first? It's bad enough most companies don't care. It's worse when they lie about it daily.
If you really want to put your customers first, make sure every decision you make starts with putting the customer first. Otherwise, all you are really doing is lying to your customers on top of putting them last. And while that might work with a wink and a nod for awhile, one day they won't be your customers anymore.
