Hall of Shame

Here's a great article from MSN Money:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/TheCustomerServiceHallOfShame.aspx?page=1

Especially of note for Savvy Capitalists everywhere are the last two paragraphs. They pretty much sum up what shrewd business - and my career - is all about.

Investors take notice The issue of customer service isn't just a problem for customers. Shareholders need to pay attention, too. Look at Home Depot. For years it was famous for having knowledgeable floor staff who could tell you what you needed to fix a leak or build a garage. Its stock, no coincidence, was a rocket, climbing from a split-adjusted $10 to $70 at the end of the decade. Now, with customer service faltering, the stock has fallen to $39.

"If you want to know how a company is doing, look at their sales," Calloway says.* "If you want know how they're going to do in the future, look at their customer service. You can only tick people off for so long."

*Joe Calloway, author of Work Like You're Showing Off.


To be fair, it's important for us to note that big companies are going to "win" unpopularity contests such as this because more people know them, bottom line. The same goes for companies that provide excellent service: the big ones, national or large-regional players, will win polls as well. And all will be consumer-oriented companies, not B2B.

It doesn't mean that Sprint and Bank of America aren't truly horrendous customer-abusers: they are. But it does skew and limit our views of best and worst practices. It's why I'll spend at least as much effort digging up small, excellent companies to tell my readers about as I will the big-name icons such as Lexus, Wegmans, and Nordstrom.

The thing is, Oklahoma's Loving Care Home Health & Hospice (http://www.lovingcarehealth.com/), for example, is a five-star customer service hero you just aren't going to read about in an MSN Money or Fortune article based on national polls. And that's where this blog... and my books... and my keynote presentations come in.