What is the real cost of doing bad business?

Why do large companies pay big bucks for advertising and then don’t deliver good quality or service? As an Energy Dynamics Facilitator and as a customer, I watch the modus operandi of many companies and scratch my head. Not acting congruently with what you are advertising is like paying big bucks to broadcast how much you don’t care.
Sadly, this week I encountered two short-sighted companies, one a major credit card organization and the other, one of those online enterprises who snare you with a subscription─if you don’t cancel in time. Thing is, I did cancel. But both the credit card company and the online company simply chose to ignore my e-mails, send me unwanted product and continue to ding me for $300 plus a month. Silly people. Whose money is it anyway? Enter stage left: my lawyer. There goes their advertising budget.
Haven’t they heard the old adage, “The customer is always right─or at least deserves to be validated.” No wonder customers get angry.
Don’t these companies understand that a mistreated client will broadcast bad news with an exponentially negative effect. Once the trust is gone, the trust is gone. And if relationships are built on trust and business is all about relationship, where does that leave the company and the employees. Out of work. What are the real costs of your bad business?
In the UK, Marks and Spencers know this. Their enormous success has proved it. Minimal advertising, guaranteed quality and consistently good service drooling with integrity meant they didn’t need to advertise. Their trusted reputation preceded them and attracted buyers in droves.
If CEO’s want to increase profitability, the question they may want to ask is, “Would you rather be right or would you prefer to be profitable?
But caring, like charity, starts at home. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” first applies to the employees. If your staff are undervalued, will they care about your customers? That energy dynamic just manifests in high absenteeism, low productivity, no initiative and worse, theft.
On the other hand, showing your employees that you care─even a little bit─will go miles towards higher energy, loyalty, inspired creativity and increased productivity and profitability. So come on, corporate Canada and America. Do the right thing, for your employees and your client. Good news spreads more slowly than bad but it stays longer and builds over time into something great.