The Art Of The Customer

By Joe Davis, CPP, CFI, LPC, ASIS Retail Loss Prevention Council

Buy, buy, buy. That is normally the expectation of a customer in our consumption based society right? But, shouldn’t there be more to the role of a customer? Isn’t part of what a customer does is to drive the product they consume forward? Challenge the development of a product, or even make a producer/supplier/vendor a better organization to work with every day? I would like to challenge all of the customers out there on what they can do to enhance the experience and satisfaction that comes from being a customer.

Education: Educate yourself on need versus want. Know your application going into the selection process.

I think one foundation to being a great customer is being educated. Now I’m not referring to Harvard or Yale here, what I am saying is that it is the basic responsibility of every good customer to educate and inform themselves on the current needs of their specific business. Typically this education is derived from some sort of business “pain point.” What is causing me to lose sleep? What is my boss asking questions about in my area? What are the areas I see my competitors struggling with when I look outside my own world? All of these points develop our education as a customer. It allows us to refine what is often a broad perspective to a much more narrowed focus.

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