AT A RECENT MEETING at the Barbados High Commission in London, a member of the audience told how he went to see lawyers in Barbados on family business and two of his attorney’s colleagues threatened to take off their jackets and fight him.
I immediately recognised the aggression that is part of Barbadian culture, even among – or more so those who profess to be – middle class professionals.
But it is also a core part of what passes for customer relations. Few public facing business people seem to realise that one of the biggest drivers of corporate value is customer relations.
It has now become par for the course for customers to go into shops, offices and some Government departments and be addressed in an offensive blokish way by staff, rather than the proper and more traditional Sir or Madam. Respecting customers is the first step in proper customer relations.
Things will not improve, however, through Government action or the creation of a bureaucratic commission that makes more noise than it delivers.
In the final analysis, ordinary Barbadian consumers must trust their own abilities and advocacy skills and form a consumer body to demand respect. Consumers must recognise their own power.
Such an organisation would be a powerful tool in the cleaning up of shoddy workmanship, rudeness by retail staff, bullying by public sector workers and outright dishonesty.
This gap in consumer protection can be taken up by trade and credit unions, church groups, parent-teacher associations, professional associations, affinity bodies or active citizens.
If trade unions kept a register of approved and rogue trades people and encouraged their members to use the list when seeking workers, it would go a long way towards cleaning up the awful mess that is the local service sector, including lawyers.
A well-organised lobby could force Government to establish independent disciplinary bodies for the medical and legal professions, with lay people forming the majority of members.
They could also force government to make professional indemnity insurance a legal requirement for all professional groups.
Banks are the same. We have a banking culture in which savers warehouse their savings in low interest-paying accounts – often below the rate of inflation – and a range of charges, from the use of a cheque to paying utility bills, which amount in reality to paying banks to withdraw your own money.
We also have life and motor insurers who try their damnedest to decline paying claims on the flimsiest of excuses, and often get away with it.
In better regulated and more mature markets, there are huge opportunities in the secondary life insurance markets for traded life policies, which can provide a very decent income for venture capital investors and high net worth people.
Customer loyalty cards, discounts, sending regular customers anniversary, occasional telephone calls to say hello, make them feel loved and appreciated. Customers are not only the lifeblood of a business, they are its most intangible asset.
A rude, incompetent or corrupt employee impacts on customer service and relations and can seriously damage the reputation of the business.
If a retailer or tradesman is known for his laziness, dishonesty or shoddy work, few people will be willing to do business with them.
By giving plaques and certificates for those businesses reaching the highest ethical standards set by the association, ordinary people will have confidence in hiring an electrician, for example, who has won the group’s approval.
The great business guru Professor Ed Freeman in his book Stakeholder Theory: The State Of The Art, said: “The long-term survival and success of a firm is determined by its ability to establish and maintain relationships within its entire network of stakeholders.”
A good reputation in the market place is a huge source of competitive advantage and increased economic value.
• Hal Austin is an award winning journalist with the Financial Times. He is Barbadian and may be reached at hal.austin@ft.com
