This morning I was in a hurry and called the taxi stand close to where I live. A guy picked up the phone and I gave him my address. Apparently he did not understand me and confirmed a different street name. I repeated my address, he still didn’t get it and responded with yet another street name. I repeated my address again, he still didn’t get it and asked me, whether I was sure to have dialed the right number. I confirmed, repeated the address and this time he understood. He showed up 5 minutes later and told me that he’s been driving a taxi in Munich for over 30 years and knows every street in town and insinuated that I had ‘mumbled’, which is why he didn’t understand me. If I can, I will obviously avoid this taxi driver in the future. After all, he tried to make me feel like an idiot. Brands often behave the same when ‘dealing’ with their customers. Like the taxi driver, they consider themselves to be ‘perfect’. If something does go wrong, it must therefore be the fault of the customer. Sorry is not just a word, it reflects an attitude. People don’t have a problem with taxi drivers or brands because they make mistakes, as we all make them. We have a problem, if they refuse to admit it and try to blame us.

Posted via email from achimmuellers’s posterous