a nice little article that a couple part 15

That was a very good read and brings back a lot of memories about "customer relations".

My very last customer, before I retired from many years in the broadcast recording field, makes an interesting case-study:

At a time when I was first "studying the internet", learning about how to build websites and streaming radio, an acquaintance asked me if I could build a website and streaming radio station for her. This became the ultimate learning opportunity because I was being paid and learning at the same time.

I got her website going and built a display-model radio station named "kdx" while we negotiated how it could be turned over to her for day-to-day operation. She personally "did not like equipment" and had an aversion to knowing anything technical. When I talked about "audio mixers" and "microphones" she became bored and started yawning. There was frustration, and she started blaming it on me. I was supposed to present a way she could have a radio station without her having to push a button.

But the exit was about her website. She wanted an animated Wayne Newton to grow into the foreground singing her theme song with an audio stream that would over-ride anything a visitor was doing on their computer.

As you can see from my website at kdxradio.com my style is very plain vanilla. She hated plain vanilla. She wanted Branson and Las Vegas. She used the S-word and the word "piss" a lot, and finally fired me.

My final communication to her simply said, "You have made the best decision. I am obviously unable to deliver your vision, and you deserve to find what you want."

What I did not say is, "Your poor husband and pity to your next web guy."

Some customers should do business elsewhere.

i brought this up because i don't know how many times i have emailed one about his tuning indicator for his product and the other about the fiberglass enclosure for his kit. both have a bad habit of not replying to their emails or to customer questions.

There's a lot of bad service.

The near monopolies including utility companies and communications providers are typically poor with customer service.

When I had DSL from one provider it was flaky for two straight years but the guy in "Hot Deli", which is a butcher department in India, always told me "It is your computer".

They never took the extra moment to imagine that maybe something was wrong with their facilities.

It is only shear blind luck that my cable internet is so reliable. Ten miles from here a friend has the same cable company, but horrible on-again off-again service.

As far as equipment suppliers are concerned, there is sometimes greater attention paid to the larger customers and less time spent on "small timers" who want a part or a circuit diagram.

The best practice, and this is only my opinion, is to treat every customer as if they are The Returning Lord calling from his Mercedes Limo.