Second Rule For Working With Potential Customers

The second rule for working with potential customers is that when you do respond to them, be polite. I’ve come across too many stories lately of passive aggressive or downright rude responses from organizations. Now, we are all dealing with a lot lately, this is true, but you should never take it out on a customer. It isn’t their fault that there has been a global pandemic and supply chain issues and all the usual crises of everyday life. So stop acting like it is.

One job applicant had been told by someone at a business to email another employee to set up a time to talk for the second phase of the interview process, so she did. However, when she finally received a response from the second employee, it was incredibly disrespectful in tone, basically telling her that she was wasting his time (even though she had been told to contact him) and that he wasn’t interested in talking with her (even though she had been told that he was) and not only was she no longer being considered for that particular role, but that she was also not going to be considered for any current role in the company, but to keep checking the job page on their website. All she had done was reach out to him via email as she was instructed after her first interview. To get a virtual slap on the hand for following directions is appalling. This organization should be ashamed of itself, and this employee should be let go before he causes more PR and business development damage.

Respond to customers and potential customers, yes, but respond politely and respectfully. If mistreating others makes you feel better about yourself, then you need to do something about that because businesses cannot survive for long with a strategy like that.