Why do you hate your customers?

You don’t know how many times I’ve asked this question out loud in public or silently to myself, swearing under my breath. This might be the harshest sentence I’ll use on my page, but it’s harsh for a reason. It’s important. And even though the people who need to read this probably won’t—they don’t frequent places like this blog—if it’s punchy enough, it might just get shared under interactions where people feel like they’re just a transaction. Let’s dive in.

There’s no excuse for bad customer service. No excuse for a robot telling me that my call is very important to the company. That, in itself, is absurd and a lie. Where are the good old times when people believed Peter Drucker’s words: “It is the customer who determines what a business is. It is the customer alone whose willingness to pay for a good or for services converts economic resource into wealth… what the business thinks it produces is not of first importance.” When did companies and the perceived fast lane to profit become more important than humble craftsmanship and serving those we depend on?

I have a theory about where it went wrong. Allow me a slight detour. Do you know that feeling when you’re deeply in love, nothing they do is annoying, and you would bring the stars from the sky to please them? When love fades away, the way they chew and breathe can be annoying, and you feel nagged whenever they ask something of you. Back to the main point.

If you are not completely head over heels in love with your customers (and your business—we’ll get there too), it’s really hard and annoying to make them the main focus of your vision. It’s time to break up and find people that you would do anything for. They’re out there, waiting for you to make their dreams happen.

This is why it’s so important that you not only focus on generating likes, follows, and transactions—everything mostly covered by marketing agencies and that I cover in a third of our work together. Another third of our time is spent falling in love with the right people and being the best at spoiling them. It’s kind, it’s caring, it’s also so much fun. It’s something that nobody else is doing, and people remember that. Think back to that one place where they treated you like a person and not just a transaction. Compare that to the place that ignored, questioned, or cheated you. Both exist, and people vote with their money. They can be tricked into trying the latter, but they will always return and be loyal to the company that made them feel special.

In some cases, finding anyone to love is difficult. That usually happens in business just like it does in real life. No good relationship can bloom from turmoil within. If you find it very difficult to even imagine a customer that makes you smile, the problem might be you. Sorry. But don’t worry, we still have another third left. That can solve it. You can only grab attention if you have a connection, but to have a connection, you not only need a customer ready to connect, you also have to provide something worth connecting to. That is your uniqueness. Your special sauce. Your why. Your rare breed. People call it many things because it’s so important and intriguing that many great business thinkers spent time on it. What is something that only you can do? Where you can claim, without any arrogance, that you’re the only one who can do that. It’s not a new feature we’re looking for here. The attic is full of features, and nobody gets excited about them anymore. (I’m looking at you, iPhone 11 and above.) We’re looking for something that’s uncopyable. Or only copyable but not recreatable. It’s something where you and the whole essence of the company are so ingrained with your product and service that the right people will instantly feel drawn to it, making it significantly easier to do the second step—establishing a connection. They are superfans right from the get-go, and their excitement reflects back to the company and makes the team more excited to be appreciated and seen for who they really are and what they stand for.

So from now on, look at brands with my very critical eyes, call out the BS, and dare to ask (even if just mumbling), “Why do you hate your customers?” and make sure that the right people will never ask that when it comes to your company.