been stupefaction when perceptions brand owners have taken as gospel truth have been deconstructed.
Brand and marketing professionals need to disabuse themselves of the common notions that: fathers are poor decision makers for household products and services; well-dressed professionals that look sharp and cut out for the corporate boardroom are more trustworthy than rough and tumble agricultural types; unaccompanied customers of the female species at social places of high repute are on a hunting spree; young people are poor decision makers all out to grab whatever looks glitzy and shiny without working hard for it; all persons that are plus size are lazy and not endowed with wit and smarts; and that persons who make use of the public transport system and are not jet setting around in mean machines do not amount to anything in life.
The attitude adopted by those handling and serving customers should be one of openness and really listening to the voice of the customer, and not only being acutely aware of, but lifting the prejudicial veil. Every single customer is deserving of great service.
Negative stereotyping is a disease that
Keen awareness of stereotypes and placing customers in different brackets is not a taboo, however, letting the virus of stereotyping ravage service provision needs to be placed under express directives; that we should wash away customer inequities, mask up and keep out intolerance, and sanitize our organizations of any imbalanced service applications.
needs to be wiped off the corporate plate in the same way and with the same effort that the world is currently making to find a solution to the Covid-19 menace.
So yes, keen awareness of stereotypes and placing customers in different brackets is not a taboo, however, letting the virus of stereotyping ravage service provision needs to be placed under express directives; that we should wash away customer inequities, mask up and keep out intolerance, and sanitize our organizations of any imbalanced service applications.
We need to be armed against any internal prejudicial attacks that may leave our customers gasping for the dignity of their breath, and more importantly, we need to take the knee of any type of customer differentiation oppression, off our customers necks and let them breath the fresh air of being handled with courtesy dignity and respect as they so rightfully deserve.
Carolyne Gathuru is the founder and director of strategy at LifeSkills Consulting. She has several years of experience in customer experience strategy development and training. You can commune with her on this or related issues via mail at: CGathuru @ life-skills. co. ke.