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The Denial Lens Is Not Good For Small Business

Written by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: Are you engaged in growing your small business? Did you ever think that you may unintentionally be wearing the Denial Lens? If so, how is that affecting your business results?

The Denial Lens Is Not Good For Small Business

De’ Nile (denial) is not just a river in Egypt as the expression goes. For example, our local county tourism officials recently learned that the general customer experience is less than satisfactory from the Chamber of Commerce to local stores. My sense is that this finding probably surprised them. Within many communities, there is an existing, fundamental belief that everything is fine here, but the problems are outside of our marketplace.

Where does belief of denial begin? Usually, the answer can be traced to the leadership of the small business or organization. When leaders do not have an open mind to see the marketplace landscape and their organizations as they really are, instead of what they want them to be, spells trouble because it cascades down throughout the organization. Now everyone or most everyone is wearing the denial lens. Occasionally, there will be someone as in the childhood story of "The Emperor's New Clothes" who will point out that the Emperor is truly naked.

Each day, hundreds of external customers (paying clients) and internal customers (employees) experience the "denial" lens from its not my job to I did not do that. For example, I was having lunch with two other women business executives at a local restaurant that had always provided exceptional customer service. Before we ordered, we asked for separate checks and received a partial denial. "Well, I can do that for you, but it will take more time." We all looked at each other quizzically given that the establishment was not busy.

How many times have you heard during the customer experience someone deny responsibility and put the blame on something or someone else? I am reminded of the line in "Gone with the Wind:" "Frankly my dear, I don’t give a ..." In other words, your customers could care less about why something was not done because the "why" is not their problem.

One of my small business colleagues, Jill Kotul of MCE, who does not believe in the denial approach to customer service stated that "Companies need to 'fess up and then fix it." Many of us in small business or as consumers have experienced companies from the top down make excuse after excuse and then attempt to blame the customers for having the audacity to want their customer experiences to be exceptional.

Small Business Coaching Training Tip: Assess your customer service by removing the "Denial Lens." Be truthful about the customer experience both internally and externally. Remember, more often than not, bad customer experiences are symptoms of far greater problems such as poor leadership to ineffective communication.

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Article Tags: business colleagues, business executives, childhood story, county tourism, customer experience, denial, emperor, exceptional customer service, external customers, fundamental belief, gone with the wind, internal customers, local county, local restaurant, local stores, mce, nile, separate checks, tourism officials, women business



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