Ink Blot

The Peon: This is not really a career path, this is a job. People who work for the paycheck, not really aspiring for more responsibility, but more money would be good. They float, engaged at about 30%, and enjoy the whining so much that they dare not look up the ladder.

The Guru: This is THE MAN (or WOMAN). They know their shit and they are the resident expert on their niche, even if it’s just within that department. They might be promoted to management for sheer lack of other places to put them, Uber-Engineer is not a typical job title. They are the go-to people, if they got hit by a bus, the company would fail.

The Jack-of-All-Trades: They dabble. They know a little bit about a lot of things, usually just enough to be dangerous.  They are the ideal employees, not irreplaceable, not commanding great salaries, but certainly competent to get the job done.

The Executive: Was once a Guru or a JoAT. Has since lost all street cred and now deals in dollars and cents. Has a firm bottom line but a flabby bottom. They can be figureheads or genuine leaders. Or Mob Bosses. Every company needs one.

The idea of customer service is about as old as the idea of selling a thing from one person to another in exchange for money or goods. Who sets the rules as to what is GOOD customer service? Going the extra mile is one thing, but beware that one mile doesn’t turn into 10, into 100.  Customer service can also be ranked by what it is you are buying. With my cup of tea in the morning, I don’t expect a free muffin, I do expect a smile from the barista. From my car dealership, it is wonderful service that we get free inspections at the dealer for life, with the expectation that any repairs needed will be bought at that time. From my former mechanic, I’m not paying for the extra 4 hours of labor to order the part you said you had in stock in the first place. It’s farily easy in the market as an end consumer where I draw the line at service.

 So, in the business-to-business world, where are the lines drawn? Are you willing to go 10 miles for the promise of a big sale in 6 months to a year? 100? 1,000? Make those miles into dollars and how does the situation change? How much upfront cost do you incur for the sake of a $6 million dollar sale you MIGHT make in a year? Is there a mark up for being annoying? There should be.