Speaking Negatively About Customers

In the chaos of your venture, you often find yourself saying things, doing things and allowing things that would be taboo in a normal environment. There are certain behaviors that have a lasting effect beyond the moment they occur. With these behaviors, unless you eliminate them completely, they can set poor standards, establish values contrary to the interests of the company, and create a toxic culture that can be hard to clean up.

“Don’t forget, they’re paying you money.” 

When you or people in your organization say things like, “Our customers are clueless” or, “We can sell that to them,” it sends a clear message not only of disrespect, but ignorance about the role customers play in your company’s success. When you think, “Our customers won’t care if we take a little shortcut” or “Our customer will not know the difference,” you have lost your way. If negative talk becomes habitual, you are more likely to think of your customers not as allies but scapegoats. After all, it’s easier (and faster) to blame the customer for everything that is going wrong than to take a good, hard look at yourself, your product, your service and your people.

Organizations must develop products and services that have a clear value—a value that customers understand and are willing to pay for. That’s hard to do. But if you adopt the negative perspective above, you’ll miss a critical opportunity to take stock of your own flaws and make progress. Speaking of customers in a negative light also sends a message to your employees that it is acceptable to blame customers instead of addressing the issue and troubleshooting a creative solution to problem.