The Idiot Customer
A customer takes his computer in to get fixed because it was taking a long time to load and was becoming intolerably slow. He was afraid that it might have a virus.
After an inspection, the technician says, “You don’t have a virus, but it looks like you haven’t run an update for over a year. You also have twenty apps set to launch at startup, and your hard drive is at 97% capacity. You can’t expect your machine to run well when you don’t look after it.”
As the customer walks away, the technician mutters under her breath, “Idiot.”
Idiot customers can be frustrating
Customers can sometimes be frustrating. They don’t give you complete information, don’t follow instructions, try to fix things they shouldn’t, and have unrealistic expectations. Then, when things don’t go right, they get upset.
It doesn’t seem fair. But, as one service manager I know once remarked, “I can’t complain. If there were no idiots, I wouldn’t have a job.”
Maybe they aren’t idiots after all
This manager, of course, had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he said this. He already knew two things:
1. That customers don’t have the same knowledge as the people on his team.
Just because someone doesn’t have your skill, knowledge or experience doesn’t make them idiots – and it’s actually quite unrealistic for us to expect them to. That is, after all, why they come to you in the first place.
2. That many of the customers’ problems may have originated with his team.
Let’s examine the things we may find frustrating about customers from a different perspective:
a. They don’t give you complete information
This can be fixed by us asking more and better questions. Your customers aren’t experts, so is it fair to expect them to know exactly what information you need?
b. They don’t follow instructions
Were the instructions clear? Perhaps they simply didn’t understand them. (We have a popular exercise in our customer service training programs that shows how much we can all improve in our communications).
c. They try to fix things they shouldn’t
Maybe they feel they have to because of previous experiences with you. Many companies have a painful customer support process, with barriers to access or time-wasting ticket systems. Are you one of them?
d. They have unrealistic expectations
Did someone adequately set their expectations to begin with? If not, how is a customer to know what a realistic expectation should be?
Think before you judge
There is no disputing that there are some genuinely and horribly difficult customers out there. But be careful pointing a finger and labelling someone as an “idiot.” You may find you’re pointing at a mirror.
