A Nation of K’fetchers:
“Oy, I just got back from the car wash, and I’ll tell ya, they gypped me! They completely missed that spot next to my rear-view mirror…and they charged me up the….well, Lisa Marie across the street said that she had her car washed for $5 less and hers came out so much nicer…I’m going to call Marcy and tell her to go to Lisa Marie’s place next time…” Okay, so maybe this is a bit dramatized, but tell me you haven’t heard some variation of this monologue before. But now instead of calling Marcy, mom or dad is taking the web and airing the grievances for the entire block, scratch that, the entire world to hear! If enough people catch wind of your mom’s complaint…well hot damn, that more expensive car wash could very well be forced to change its practices, less lose all its customers!
The internet has become an platform on which indignant customers can really ream into the businesses that have done them wrong! True the k’fetching stems from a discontent that in many ways is warranted. So here’s a little history of why we’re so aggrieved with the way our markets work today. Cluetrain touches on the business trend towards mass markets. The emphasis on “Mo’ Bigga Mo’ Betta” economies of scale focused businesses attention away from consumer needs and fixed it on how to run the most efficient business. This often means sacrificing unique services or products in order to offer homogenized—but cheap—goods on a large scale. We successfully McDonaldized business.
The bigger and more efficient the businesses became, the less accessible influential and upper management became. Have a problem with your TV provider?: Please hold and someone may be with you at his or her earliest convenience to “assist” you. How I envy the days of mom-and-pop stores, local markets, and quaint bookstores where everyone knows your name and what book you’ll enjoy best! Today, it is too often that we see homegrown retailers being squashed out by retail conglomerates. While the large retail operations may be economically pragmatic, they often lose track of their purpose—providing a service for their customers.
“They can have it in whatever color they’d like, as long as it’s black”
People want to feel like their needs are being heard and met. Customer service folks! Sure, it was easy for Henry Ford to tell people to take it or leave it…he was offering the only product out there. But now, we expect more because there is are more options. We expect to find exactly what we want, when we want, in our size and that color that compliments our complexion oh so perfectly.
“They can have it in whatever color they’d like, as long as it’s black”…these days are long gone! We now have cars (and g-d knows a million other goods) in every size, shape, and color to meet our every need. You’re a soccer mom carting around 5 kids; here is a lovely black minivan for you. You’re a 55 year old newly divorced man going through a midlife crisis, have your pick of any flashy red two door sports car—don’t forget the turbo engine and swanky beige leather interior. So this is evidence that markets hear consumers’ demands, and adapt to meet their every need, right? Well…sorta…
The internet is a powerful tool and is absolutely forcing businesses to listen their customers in a way Henry Ford would never have thought possible! We as consumers have the opportunity to have our concerns be heard, and our needs be met…because we have a voice—an unadulterated voice through which we can express our REAL thoughts and opinions about their products. Customers are angry…they’ve had to deal with automated voice messaging systems that are a poor excuse for customer service for far too long!
Remember that carwash that risked a major PR disaster due to mom’s little hissy fit gone viral? Well not to worry, the owner of the car wash responded to her tweet PERSONALLY, and offered her and all of her friends complimentary detail services the next time they stop by! Now that’s a conversation. Perhaps Laura Mercier doesn’t make an eye shadow in the purple that really makes your green eyes ‘pop’…so you write about this on your makeup blog, and other green-eyed makeup aficionados agree, Laura is missing the critical color in her collection. Well, Laura’s people catch wind of this and poof—the next line features that exact purple you were looking for! What a win…companies no longer have to guess what their customers are looking for...because they’re telling them in conversations across the web! And boom: just like that customers can now get exactly what they’re looking for out of the companies they love.
Great! So, no need for an American black out, you can now wear self-expression on your proverbial, and literal, sleeve—a great victory for non-conformist everywhere! So why are we still complaining? They didn’t get my car to me fast enough…the color looks washed out…I’m always a size 24, this company makes shitty jeans if I can’t fit into their 24…the laundry list of complaints goes on and on and on. The Internet has given consumers a voice to hold conversations with businesses that resembles an era of mom-and-pop local markets…because it gives a place to vent and receive feedback, and ultimately to get what we are looking for out of our purchasing experience. But unlike complaining at a mom and pops store, our interaction isn’t face-to-face. I’d venture a guess that people wouldn’t complain about ¼ of what they k’fetch about online if they were doing so in person. That faceless/lack of a person to report to—consumers’ biggest complaint with respect to customer service—has in some way emboldened and empowered us to continue complaining. Watch out big business, the consumers are in control!
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