And it’s all pretty much rubbish. 

 

This is one of the rare exceptions: Your customer won’t take a bullet for you

 

People do not establish relationships with organisations. People relate to people.

 

On a recent trip to the UK, I came across a fine example of loyalty.

 

A colleague working for a building company received a letter from one of their suppliers. The letter said that their top salesman was leaving the industry to pursue other interests. It said that he would be very hard to replace, as he had been a wonderful employee, he had done excellent work, and that he was leaving with all the best wishes in the world.  My colleague was somewhat bemused by the letter, and unsure quite what to do with it. When he phoned the supply company a few months later, he asked about the letter. 

 

The response was unexpected, but upon reflection unsurprising.

 

The supply company said that they had many, many calls about that letter.

 

They had replaced the salesman with a younger person with little experience, and had expected sales volume to drop significantly. What happened was quite the reverse. They were swamped with orders for work. When they asked their customers why this was so, the replies were all the same.

 

That letter. The one about your salesman.

 

The customers were simply choosing to do business with a company that respected and acknowledged good people.

 

This is not about a relationship between a customer and a business. 

 

It’s a relationship between people who choose to do business with people that share their values. And they are loyal to those that respect those values.

 

Who are you loyal to?