Integrity & Professionalism Escapes Many In Business

Just last week I visited my local Cabela’s store with the main purpose in mind to check out a new Nikon scope I’d been hearing and reading a lot about. As with most new products that I eventually anticipate purchasing, I tend to do a lot of research on the product to make sure the purchase is a good one that fits my needs. With this particular scope I had read several favorable reviews as well as I thoroughly digested the information on Nikon’s web site. The only thing missing was to touch and view the scope first-hand…and of course, that’s where a store like Cabela’s comes in.

As I perused the various items in the department a clerk approached me to see if I needed any assistance. Normally I say no, but this time for some odd reason I engaged the employee in some chit-chat that eventually led to a discussion on my future scope. Quickly I discovered that this young store clerk had an ego the size of Texas and took a certain pride in having all the answers. That’s when the fatal question came. I asked, do you have this scope in silver (thinking I would match my stainless gun)? “Nope,” the clerk replied…“the scope is not manufactured in silver.” I countered, “well…I don’t believe that statement to be true. Even the Nikon web site shows the scope in matte (black), camo or silver.” Moreover, what I didn’t tell the clerk was that I had a buddy, who owns a gun shop, already order the scope for me in silver…so I definitely knew that option existed and is currently available.

This certain store employee continued on with such fervor bent on proving he was the expert…but what he didn’t realize was he had already lost it with me. That’s right, when he miserably failed my little confidence test it made all the other information he had explained to me virtually worthless. How could I distinguish what was rhetoric and what was legitimate? When this particular employee positioned himself so that he could not possibly accept he could be wrong…his professionalism waned and his integrity as a customer service resource all but disappeared.

Hey, from time to time we all make mistakes. I remember a mistake I made several years back that cost me about $5,000 in lost revenue for my business. I took a customer order in writing, but forgot to make some critical changes to the order that were subsequently made verbally by the customer. Technically, I could have easily dismissed the fact that there was no evidence of verbal orders changing the written order, but I didn’t. I owned up to my mistake. I accepted the fact that I messed up and ultimately suffered the consequences. In so doing, my customer who received the wrong product was relieved to know he was not going to be stuck with something he hadn’t ordered.

Lately I’ve learned that when you do business with a person you need to take a close look at whether it’s a one-time sale or if you are to be a repeat customer. Hey, there’s a big difference. A few weeks ago a friend of mine who was trying to be helpful put me in touch with a lawn care expert who came over to my house to offer up some free advice on establishing new grass on part of my lawn. In the process of our discussion…he asked me if I wanted to purchase the lawn care materials (seed, fertilizer, etc.) through him. I figured…why not if he can get me a good deal. I asked him how much he figured the materials would cost…and his response was “around $200.”

I assented to his offer and the materials were procured. Before getting the materials I asked him what the exact total was for the supplies. At that time his response was…well, they cost a bit more than I expected. “Somewhere in the range of $250 to $300.” Several hours later when my friend dropped off the supplies…a bill that had originally been estimated at “around $200” had now increased to just shy of $500. What a crock of crap! Obviously this guy figured I was a one-time sales opportunity so he was going to stick it to me. He knew his behavior in business was not dependent on earning back my respect or confidence resulting in continuity of sales both now and in the future.

Same goes with many of the folks who worked on building my house last summer. It was a one-time business opportunity for most of them so I’ve subsequently learned that performing their various crafts in the construction trade were not done in a manner to earn my respect over and over again. They shook the proverbial money tree as best they could, and in any manner they felt they could get away with, and then they moved on to other income sources.

Yea, you probably guessed it, I am a little bitter how many folks seemingly carry on their miserable business practices. Problem is, you often don’t have the luxury of giving folks a simple test, like I did to the store clerk who could not accept he was wrong. The arrogance by which some business professionals act utterly astounds me. When a person simply can’t conceive that they might possibly be wrong…you can never expect to receive quality customer service. Moreover, when good judgment eludes a person because integrity and professionalism gets clouded by arrogance…it will never be a good deal for the consumer.

You’ve probably heard it said that the vast majority of businesses fail within the first 5 years…and I can perfectly understand why. I would venture to guess that’s also why many building contractors and lawn care experts who fail to demonstrate competency in their fields eventually either fold up shop or move their services to a new locale to get away from negative reputations “dogging” them. I also suspect that “know-it-all” store clerks either must mature in their ways…or suffer the risk that eventually nobody will care to deal with them because of these unforgiving character flaws.