Despite the on-going endorsement of gurus like Seth Godin, I am still very suspicious about the internet’s ability to be a legitmate place of business. Now, I am not saying that internet business is failure personified… no I am talking about the lack of proactivity in stopping fraud and moreover the scamming of the general public.
A key point of what I am saying can be traced to companies that thrived during the recent Acai berry and Government Grant fiasco. I have a theory, some people will go into business with the mindset that making money is paramount… at the expense of ‘ethics’. It can be very easy to make money online, especially if you want to go to jail (or at least it was until recently). Here’s where I am wondering why business lacks heart… how can we knowingly sell false promises and false hope to people? Because of the money. What differentiates such companies from drug dealers? I can’t think of a thing.
A common excuse you hear is this: Well I am in business to make money and what customers do with the product (or even if IT ACTUALLY WORKS) is not my problem. I recently bought a batch of DVD’s online believing them to be genuine, alas they weren’t. What about Ebay? What a pathethic sham they have for customer service. Honestly, you get the same automated email when you are robbed by a greedy dangerous powerseller that you do, when somebody sells you a phone that doesn’t work. And don’t get me started about Paypal. They are equally as poor and care LESS about customers than Ebay does. They simply don’t care. Which brings me to my point:
If we are to build ‘successful’ online businesses then we must do so with integrity. If we plan to sell a service, we must support and completely believe in the product we sell. The internet holds so much promise, yet we continue to stuff around with important things like customer service.
What can we learn from these things? Do the opposite of Ebay and Paypal! Actually be proactive in meeting customer needs. Be reputable as an online company. Foster communication, take feedback seriously and most of all: answer your dam emails when they are sent. We are people, not items on a budget sheet. You need to help us buy stuff from you, and no matter how much you automate it, you cannot replace human contact.
If you are in online business, please take what I am saying seriously. Customer service has taken a bashing (especially here in Australia) in the last few years and I for one would love to see a return to better service, better feedback and overall a giant overhaul of 21st Century Business. After all, it’s the future…. isn’t it?
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