"Our Take" - Boss Talk

(Past Editions by: Date, Title, Topic)

 
About "Our Take" 
"Our Take" is a collection of daily vignettes covering a wide range of CRM topics. It's an attempt to add our own spin to the world of CRM. We will use the column to share our perspectives, opinions, epiphanies, web nuggets, or quite frankly anything that moves us. Get ready to expect the unexpected. And, don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.
 
 
10/10/07 - Are Bike Shops to Blame?
Many of you may remember me mentioning my interest in cycling. As such, I always on the lookout for items of interest that intersect cycling and CRM. Here's an example to ponder. According to an industry survey, an estimated 17 million people quit riding in the last 10 years. One would guess just the opposite given the increase in visibility of the sport due to one Lance Armstrong and his amazing accomplishments on and off the bike. One online cycling resource offered a possible reason - the almost elitist attitude exhibited by some bike shop employees.
 
It makes sense that most bike shop employees are avid cyclists. But does personal passion and product knowledge translate into someone that is helpful and enjoyable? Often I have friends or acquaintances ask for cycling advice because the experience at their local shops was not enjoyable or it was intimidating. The staff either talked over their head or didn't seem interested in taking the time to really help them. Even I don't feel they really understand my needs because they are married to their own experiences and views on product. I often feel they have made up their minds what to recommend before they have even listened to me explain my needs.
 
Do you have people in your organization that are passionate about the product to the extent that the product passion trumps the passion to help the customer?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
10/11/07 - Who's To Blame?
I have a bit more information regarding yesterday's column why some believe bike shops are a reason so many people have quit cycling. One online survey suggests 35% of all bike shop visitors frequently encounter poor treatment and another 25% encounter poor treatment on an occasional basis. That's more than half the qualified market - those with reason to enter a bike shop.
 
The local bike shop is under pressure from online retailers that offer a wider selection at a lower price. But the local bike shop can be better at some things. One is advice and experience. But if I feel dumb in asking and the response is rude, I quickly learn to not walk through the bike shop door. I'll take my chances online.
 
I have read countless responses from other cyclists suggesting it is about "snobby little punks" immersed in their own cycling prowess and disinterested employees on the payroll for a discount. Regardless of the employee motivations, let me give my local bike shop owner a piece of advice. I'm in your store to learn as much as I am to purchase. Teach me something and I will buy product I can enjoy. If the coffee guys can charge a premium, you can too.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
10/12/07 - How About a Little Noblesse Oblige?
The last two days, I've talked about one hypothesis why 17 million people have given up riding their bicycle in the last decade (read Are Bike Shops to Blame? and Who's To Blame? for more background). Many of you have had similar bike shop experiences. Consider this perspective about bike shops and computer support. . .
 
"At one shop, my son and I were totally ignored, and we felt very unwelcome. At another shop, my daughter and I were abandoned when the guy found out the bike was not for my daughter but for me. Without the help of a friend, I wouldn't have been able to handle the awkwardness I felt throughout the process. I'd felt I'd been judged and come up short. Tech support can feel like that to the non-technical person seeking help. They know that a lot of help desk people have prejudged callers as if not idiots, inferiors. There's a vocabulary gap. The playing field is clearly not level, and respect is not a given."
 
Now here is the really good thought: "There's an old concept of Noblesse oblige - that if you have the advantage in a situation, it is incumbent on you to be generous toward the disadvantaged. Or, to put it another way, you shouldn't use your skills and knowledge to make the less skilled and less knowledgeable feel bad while you're helping them. Callers have a problem, and are vulnerable. Yet we have scripts and processes that cause them to be treated like idiots. Too often we dumb things down, instead of extending our hands and lifting our customers up."
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
10/15/07 - Bike Shops and Computer Stores
In my last column, I shared how one reader suggested the "talked down to" feeling experienced in the bike shop is awfully similar to the typical computer store experience. It turns out many of you made the same correlation. Consider this response:
 
"Re-read your last couple of columns (Are Bike Shops to Blame?, Who's To Blame?, How About a Little Noblesse Oblige?) replacing the words bike shop with computer store. Sound familiar? We read this countless times about the snotty know-it-all geeks who made everyone hate going to the computer store. They spoke their own language and made you feel like an idiot. But the computers still sold out because there was an actual demand."
 
Bike shops, like many businesses, don't have built-in demand. Customers have exercise alternatives to the bike. We have the car for transportation. For most people, riding a bike is not about carbon fiber, titanium, and racing at Lance Armstrong-like speeds. Often it is about sharing an outdoor experience with friends and family. If I feel some guy at a bike store is going to spoil that experience, I'll simply move on to another activity. The employee that projects his experience on to the customer without regard for what the customer wants the experience to be creates the grand divide – the big disconnect. Yeah, it's as simple as "walk a mile in my customer's shoes." But if it really is that simple, why do so many businesses fail to do it?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)