15 Minutes a Day

I don’t pretend to be anybody important or wealthy because I’m not. However, I do have friends, family, and contacts on various social networks and in various organizations. When I am happy with an organization or vendor I share that with nearly everyone I know. When I’m not happy, I do the same.  Listed below are things that I really wish vendors would NOT do if they want to keep my business:

• Don’t cold call me! I don’t like being cold called with “special offers.” You’re not going to get business from me if you call because there is too much of a chance that you’re scamming me. I’m not about to turn over my credit card or identity information to some company I’ve never heard of.
• If you do cold call me, do NOT use one of those one of those automated systems that asks me to “Please hold for one of our operators…” That is the fastest way to get me to hang up on you. After these two tips, I suggest that you don’t waste your time on cold calling me for my business.¹
• Don’t send me junk mail. When I check my mail or email I go through and pull out the letters and bills and toss the rest in the recycle bin (snail mail) or trash (email). I’m a busy lady & don’t have time to sift through every piece of mail or email I get.
• Don’t have lousy customer service! Nothing clamps the lock on my wallet faster than snooty or lousy customer service. I understand when a customer service person is unable to help me because something is outside their skill level or access level. However, don’t tell me what you can’t or won’t do for me. Tell me what you can or will do for me instead. If I’m calling you for help I’m already a bit irritated. Don’t make things worse by telling me what you won’t do for me.
• Don’t use overly loud commercials that shout at me. I have become so annoyed by commercials that frankly I don’t watch them anymore. I record all of the shows I want to watch so that I can fast forward through commercials. If advertisers want my business they can offer me information about their products or services in a manner that is much less phony and annoying. I DO listen to commercials on my favorite podcasts². The commercials are either very short, very entertaining, or both. That’s the way to capture my attention and my business.

Your thoughts on these points? What tips or pointers have I missed in this list? Please share with me in the comments area or on Twitter.

My next blog entry will address what those who want to capture my business should do to get it…

¹Nonprofits that I have a relationship with are exceptions to these first two rules. However, don’t call asking me for money. You’re more likely to get me to volunteer or buy tickets to something than to get a donation out of me. Let me know what you’re after and give me information about events, but give me the option to send it in to you, check my calendar, or attend an event.

²You can find a list of my favorite podcasts on the right-hand side of this page.