“GUILT” as a Business Model?

Janeese Jackson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:10:17 +0000

I’ve recently had some business-to-business experiences that make me go “hmmmmmm”???!!! How does “guilt” work as a business model? I’ve had some interesting interactions where I was enlisting services to repair items and where I was utilizing services I use daily. In both instances (and I’m sure I could retrieve many more examples) I either pay monthly for these services or had recently made a large purchase from this business and was asking for a non-purchase-related repair (for which I was willing to pay, of course). In both cases, the people were extremely nice and accommodating but with that with that “oh-so-subtle” guilt that was reminiscent of some “Saturday Night Live” character that I can’t recall, who always said: “no…no, don’t worry about me”! Are you following my drift? Is anything other than gratitude appropriate in our very trying economy? I think it is so important as business owners, service providers (and humans on the planet) to be appreciative of the business and services we receive. Obviously, abusive or insulting customers and clients are not tolerated but requests and job-related activities are what you are hired to provide. Rolling of the eyes is out of line, but an extreme example. Subtle exasperation and reiterations of how busy, redundant, unappreciated, obligated you might feel are counter-productive to a successful business owner/service provider-to-client relationship. I’m writing this as a reminder to me to be delighted and appreciative that someone actually remembers my name and calls for advice, services, confirmations or even to respectively “unload”. Portland Oregon real estate is struggling alongside many other businesses right now and I understand stress levels are high. We are all in this together!!

Portland Real Estate Update by Janeese Jackson » business to business

“GUILT” as a Business Model?