Tightrope: You have to listen to customers, not just hear them

— -- "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." This statement is funny and can be misunderstood if we hear it without listening. All day long our ears automatically hear sounds around us. But how much of it do we really listen to?

Being heard and actually being listened to are two separate things. The last couple of weeks have given me the chance to see that principle up close.

A couple of weeks ago while having lunch with my buddy Marcy our conversation turned to small businesses. I told her I had purchased two swivel chairs from a local furniture company a couple of years ago and a chair had stopped swiveling. I went on to tell her that I planned to call the company later that day to see if they would come out and repair the chair.

Marcy laughed and said, "Good luck; I selected a chair from that company a couple of years ago and was told it was a special order. When the chair arrived three months later it was the wrong one." After several months of trying to convince them that they got the order wrong, Marcy said, "I finally gave up and just kept the chair."

She blamed the experience on the company being a small business. After that she turned to large companies for such purchases. She assured me that it wouldn't be easy trying to get the company to do something about the chair.

The next morning I called the store. To make a long story short I was connected to several different people. Not one let me complete my thought before interrupting me to tell me that I would need my sales slip and proof of purchase before they could discuss the situation further, or they would say the chairs were not under warranty. With each person I would ask if they would simply call the manufacturer of the chair to see if they could help. Each time I was told that nothing could be done. One store employee suggested I buy a new chair.

After a few days of going around and around on the phone I decided to try a different approach. I believed that I wasn't having success because no one was listening to me.