Guest blog: Dan Wilson on ‘Are your customers trying to tell you something?’

In these straitened times, customer satisfaction and getting feedback from clients is even more vital than usual. But you don’t always have to solicit input, conduct a survey or print a load of questionnaires out. Are your customers trying to tell you something from the way they behave?

Here are some examples I’ve observed in the last few weeks:

Please use the other door!
A local pub with plenty of passing trade. The pub has two doors but one is permanently locked and has a small sign on it: ‘please use the other door.’ As I sat with a friend having a pint we observed numerous people try the locked door. Some would realise their error and use the other door. Others would rattle it again, miss the small sign and walk on by. Why is the door locked? People want to use it! Does the reason the door’s locked justify the custom that’s lost?

We don’t sell stamps!
A novelty card and gift shop, you know the sort. Not one of the big chains. I’m perusing the cards and notice a sign: ‘we don’t sell stamps’. This is a bit annoying for me, because I don’t have any stamps. I go and buy my card in a shop that also sells stamps. Selling stamps may be a hassle and not that profitable, but I bet it would grease the wheel when it comes to selling cards.

We don’t take cards!
There’s a little general shop round the corner from me that I never go into. This is because I once attempted to buy a few vital groceries using a debit card and I was met with incredulity. The matronly shopkeeper didn’t say anything and just pointed at a sign saying ‘No cards. Cash only.’ I enquired as to why: ‘the charges. Too high.’ Ever since, I buy my groceries at an equally nearby shop where they do take cards.
It’s always worth reviewing your assumptions and practices, but at the moment it’s vital. Are you driving away customers because you’re unwilling to change?

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