If you can’t make them want to stay…

Today in the office I was having a discussion with my friend Rob about what customer service really is. There are a lot of web-development companies who promise a lot, deliver little, and nickel and dime clients to death in return for mediocre work. Do they solve problems for clients? Yeah. Do they do it well? No. Just enough service to squeak by. I vehemently opposed the idea that companies with this type of approach to customer service can stay in business, but then I saw a tweet and it clicked. Just like that.

…Make it impossible to leave.

The tweet was from a friend of mine about switching internet providers; a recent struggle of my own. The funny thing is I hate my provider, but still haven’t switched. Why you ask? Because frankly it is a huge hassle. Someone has to come get my equipment. Someone has to come install new stuff. New bills. New contracts. Hassle. A company can have the worst customer service and a mediocre product, but I as a consumer don’t mind it because it’s too difficult to leave, and too hard to find an alternative.

Then I realized that companies do the exact same things to clients. They offer a product that isn’t the best, but they sell it well. And they also make sure that they own the platforms the product is based on. That way when a client wants to leave they can’t just go. They have to re-write all their content, re-build databases, re-upload photos. And they have to pay someone new to re-build their site, re-code the functionality, and re-earn their trust. As a business owner that is a hassle. And here is where Dane Cook come back into things.

During one of his sketches Dane jokes about people who can’t leave a relationship with someone they hate. When friends admonish the woman to leave the explanation is as follows, “my CDs are in his truck! I can’t just walk away from 40 or 50 CDs…I’m gonna take 2-3 years of abuse…until I can leave…with my CDs”

How often do we make excuses like that in our own relationships with service providers? It’s obvious something is wrong. It’s obvious that there are better things out there…but our CDs are in our providers truck. Sure it may cost some money to replace (I mean that’s a lot of CDs), or you may just have to let them go, but in the end the hassle is worth it. As a designer at a firm that specializes in well-thought-out and functional web solutions, I know that there are companies out there who will listen to clients’ needs, and craft a unique well-made solution. If you are a client in a relationship you don’t want to be in, I can promise the CDs aren’t worth it.

Besides…who buys CDs anymore?