Why Customers Leave

Why Customers Leave (And How to Win Them Back), by David Avrin, Career Press, 2019 

"Your biggest source of lost revenue are the prospects you never knew about.  They drove by, but they didn't stop in.  They called, but hung up before you answered the phone. .."

Everyone feels neglected when the straws dispenser at your favorite coffee shop is empty, or when the guys who installed the fridge "forgot" to level the legs, or when the National Cancer Institute takes you into endless loops when all you really wanted to do was check out drug interactions.  It happens every day - customer neglect, customer abuse - and once customers leave....

There's a fine line...

But author David Avrin believes that customers can come back!  It may take new, very focused behaviors and a different approach to leadership, but it can be done.  The author concludes each customer problem chapter with "A Better Approach," common sense recommendations to understand and serve customers better.  In his chapter "Don't Punish Everyone for the Actions of a Few," for example, he says:

                    Trust people until they prove untrustworthy.  Better yet - trust, but verify.  .. Close off the path between                     the register and the exit so you know everyone leaving has already paid.  Count the items                                                 going in and out of the dressing room....Don't follow us around and peer at us over racks of                                            clothing to make sure we don't steal things.  Just have cameras.  We are cool with that... People                     understand reasonable verification to protect your business, but they don't appreciate suspicion while                                                                                                   shopping.  It's disrespectful and largely unnecessary.

Of the 23 reasons that customers leave businesses, the number one problem, says Avrin,  "and the chief source of your lost prospects and revenue, is not your customer service.   Its your ingrained beliefs and desire for operational efficiency, cost savings, and predictability of employee behavior that are driving your customers to your competitors.."  It may be hard to accept given the constant presence of Amazon and ebay, but customer service, extreme customer service, offers retailers the remaining open door to survival.   Are you going to roll over, or are you going to fight for your business?" 

Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com, tricia@patriciaemoody.com,