Quick – Think of the most memorable interactions you have had with a business greater than three years ago. Chances are, a negative experience immediately came to mind. Why? According to this article in Time, there are 2 reasons for this. 1. Survival instincts – touching fire is bad and 2. Strong emotions have a more lasting imprint on your memory. Anger is definitely a strong response, but I would also add disappointment to the list of strong emotional and memorable responses as well. I definitely remember how disappointed I was in Santa for bringing me a “Sit & Spin” for Christmas while he brought my brother the “Big Wheel” I had always wanted.
The point is that since anger and disappointment are so easily etched into our memories and seem to last forever, we have to work doubly hard to make sure that we don’t anger and disappoint our customers. Treat problems as opportunities to do the right thing and avoid being cast aside by your customers. Ignoring customer problems will eventually hit your bottom line, and not in a good way. Let’s not forget that!