Greed is, indeed, the enemy.
This is not meant to be an attack against Ryan Holiday’s bestseller Ego Is The Enemy.
Ego is not the enemy. Greed is.
Don’t like to disagree with Ryan Holiday (especially since I know his intention for writing Ego Is The Enemy). And yet, I believe, you should not fight your ego.
You should fight greed.
The last 4 years, since mid-2017, have taught me so much that I would have never learned at any university—not fingers crossed, I know.
(Again: No pun intended. I think formal education is great, as long as you can apply it to real-life situations. I had the chance to study at AUAS in 2016, was accepted for “International Business and Languages,” and realized that what I needed most—not wanted most—was practical on-the-job training. Hence, I went for a 3-years sales apprenticeship in Berlin that I shorten to 2.5 years).
A Contract With The Devil
Big biz “wonder” why people cancel their monthly subscriptions—if they were clever, they set up plans with a minimum contract length of many years down the road. Now their win-back department needs to step in and fight to get these customers back. Why aren’t you satisfied paying more than a customer that recently joined for the first time? How dare you canceled! Nevermind….
Facts, bro.
You are their most valuable puzzle piece, yet least looked after.
Most often, you only receive better treatment if you threaten to leave.
File a cancellation…
Why else does every big company have a win-back department?
For them, you’re just another number.
Unless you pay a lot every single month.
Nothing you couldn’t have researched on your own.
Don’t fall for “premium.”
If you’re working at a PLC (publicly traded company)…
…You know this to be true:
Your company’s customer service sucks—big time.
Why is that?
Because:
Consumers are not the company’s #1 priority. Your company’s stakeholders are your company’s #1 priority.
To me (an idealist), PLCs sign a contract with the devil as soon as they become one.
Recommended Read: Unscripted, MJ Demarco
They’ve invested their hard-earned cash into your business with the promise and expectation to see a positive ROI—every quarter, year after year.
So what do you do?
You focus on increasing your profit margin.
Whatever it takes.
That explains why you can’t expect world-class customer service from the majority of big biz. They are run to not only turn a profit but to squeeze every single penny out of their customer base. They literally have to.
Get it?
Every single penny.
Every single cent.
Every single dime.
It all has to be exploited, no matter the consequences and no matter the long-term vision.
For instance, it’s no “accident” that people get charged for additional packages they didn’t request in their order. Why?
Because it’s best practice.
A certain (read: large enough) number of customers will forget about it and long-term spend several bucks per month/year on features they didn’t really need in the first place.
So what, they had the option to cancel (tho, inconvenient)…
…And that’s just one aspect.
It’s greed.
