Last week, I finally moved into some office space. It’s a quiet place to work where I can write, shoot video, and meet with my local clients. It’s a keyman-type building and I’m surrounded by about six or eight other small businesses.
I happened to have my door open mid-week and here’s a conversation I overhead in the hall:
Business owner: Ok, we’re all set. The total amount is $65.
Customer: How can I pay this?
Business owner: I can take cash or check today.
Customer: You don’t take credit cards?
Business owner: No, I’m sorry, I can’t do that here.
Customer: Oh, dear. I wish I’d known that. I don’t ever carry checks with me.
An awkward silence ensued. The business owner told the customer to pay via Paypal from a certain page on her website.
The customer reminded the business owner about her coupon. Another awkward silence ensued. The business owner said,
“I don’t have that amount set up on Paypal. You’ll need to pay the full amount via credit card online today and then next time you can use the coupon.”
Really?
I have to ask – are YOU making it hard for your customers to do business with you?
Are you creating moments of uncomfortable silence for your customers?
Or are you showing up reliably and professionally, with systems and processes that work?
It’s impressive the number of business owners who are calling about my new programs. They are ready to invest in themselves, in their businesses, and to move from frustration to freedom.
Being unorganized in front of clients?
Awkward.
Again, let me ask you: how much is your disorganization costing you?