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I took a cue from someone a while back and instead of signing my credit cards on the reverse side I wrote in large black permanent marker “SEE I.D.” The hope is that, should someone steal my card and try to use it, they will be foiled when my instructions cue the clerk to the illegal activity about to transpire in his/her establishment. The problem is no one ever checks the back of the card. No one that is except for the receptionist at the most unlikely of places: MY DENTIST!
I just spent over one hour having people poke me in the mouth, scrub my teeth, and take 360 degree X-rays of my head. Three different people checked me and entered information into a computer containing a database file with my information. And at the end of it all I hand them my credit card which has my name on it (the same one in the computer) and they actually ask me to see my I.D.??? They blindly follow the instructions I laid out for them. The safeguard that I put in place to stop would-be thieves from buying nachos at 7-Eleven with my plastic is now making me feel like the newest brand of criminal: the forerunner of Dental Identity Theft. They did exactly what I asked. So what’s the problem?
We are at a pivotal moment in society right now when it comes to customer service. Interactions have become so impersonal. We buy online and over the phone. We use self-checkout at Home Depot or Stop-n-Shop. The guy at the gas station doesn’t care enough to look at the signature on the back of your card to see if you’re ripping somebody off. And your dentist’s office cares so little about customer service that they make you feel like you’re going through JFK airport when you go to pay your bill. People who are in the supposed “customer care” business have lost the ability to think on their feet. They have lost the ability to take policy and protocol and determine where it’s appropriate and where it is just illogical.
The companies that truly remain successful in the coming years are going to be those who know and understand their customers. When was the last time you took a moment to really get to know your customer? Do you allow them to have meaningful interactions with you or your company? Or, do you need to check their I.D.?
