Have you ever heard the expression, "stick it to the man?" It means getting back, taking revenge or protesting someone or something, usually a big entity like a corporation or the government.
There is a lot of that expression going around. The Occupy Wall Street movement, which pioneered the other Occupy protests in major cities around the world was sticking it to the man. In this case, the "man" was Wall Street companies and their executives that took self-interest and greed to the limit, at the expense of Main Street – the small businesses and regular people. The "man" also happened to be the government that bailed those sleazy financial institutions out to prevent a recession, which happened anyway.
Many people are against the tactics of Occupy movements, and their lack of a cohesive message. However, the phenomenon displayed a side of society that has kept quiet and just couldn't take it anymore. Protest and unrest is a democratic tool to force accountability.
And it seems to be true that many big companies have gone too far. In an effort to keep shareholders happy, cost cutting includes deep cuts in personnel. This leads to lack of confidence, which leads to decreased spending. An economy that doesn't grow, or shrinks, is in recession.
Those who still have jobs have to work twice as hard to keep them. Service is impacted. All those nice mission statements look like a single word – profit – or in some cases – survival.
In Canada, customer service is hard to find the bigger the company gets. All the telecom companies, without exemption, keep tired and irritable customer support staff. There is no easy way to standardize good service because it is not a profit centre.
Airline companies are also in trouble. With lesser ridership and cost cutting to support reduced prices, service is only as good as the occasional helpful flight attendant. No wonder many frequent flyers identify with Alec Baldwin's callous behaviour on an American Airlines flight, even though he was wrong.
When Netflix divided its DVD and online services, customers revolted. Netflix had the first mover advantage, and was the market leader until that point. No amount of apology and explanation could quell the outrage, because customers could tell what a greedy action looks like.
I have found myself complaining to a company every few weeks. A big company that hit me with extra charges because of negative option billing stuck to its story, because it is protected by that long customer agreement we usually just click "I agree" to. A credit card company keeps calling and not leaving a message because it is their policy to speak to someone before they start the sales pitch. It is rude and unapologetic. I won't take it anymore. After 18 years with that credit card, I'm letting it expire. I'm sure you, the reader, have been hit by bad corporate behaviour that is just within the limit of what is allowed.
Big companies have to find their way back to the days of enthusiastic filling station attendants and courteous store clerks. People do appreciate good service. Even if businesses make mistakes providing stellar service, they will be forgivable. Good customer service is never a cost. It is an opportunity to connect with the customer.
Without the emphasis on the customer, people will want to stick it to the man – usually by taking their hard-earned money elsewhere.
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