It's the Customer, Stupid!: 34 Wake-up Calls to Help You Stay Client-Focused

Chapter 22. If You Pay Peanuts, You Get Monkeys!

It's about the quality of those serving the customer.

I'm in the business of training people to be better at the entire customer/client service process. However, I never cease to be amazed at how much money a company will spend on marketing a product or service—and how little they invest in taking care of the client once they have made a commitment to purchase said product or service.

The billions that are lost to this flaw in the process annually are staggering. They are, unfortunately, also incalculable because many customers don't even bother to complain about the lousy service they got. They simply go elsewhere without saying a word.

Sadly, many companies have failed to define exactly what they want and expect from their client service reps. You certainly can't train people in a process that you haven't defined! How can you fix a problem that you refuse to acknowledge that you have?

A tremendous transformation in products has taken place over the past 40 years in the insurance industry. I have been blessed to be with the same company since I began in the field nearly 40 years ago, so my perspective is focused accordingly. Sadly, I've had a front row seat to the good, the bad, and the ugly in the life insurance business. In every case, it boiled down to one word: GREED.

The Knights of Columbus Insurance has allowed me to enjoy a career that has spanned some four decades with a company that's thrived in that highly focused market. Our ...