Most companies have a page on their website dedicated to company culture and values. It’s usually the obvious stuff – respect for the individual, dignity for all, honesty and fairplay in all dealings, blah, blah, and blah.
But somehow, when interacting with agencies and service providers who are more popularly called vendors, these values seem to fade away. And are replaced by a demanding attitude that reeks of disdain and lack of courtesy.
Of course, it makes sense to extend all the courtesy to your customers. After all, they keep the fire burning in the hearth. But why do service providers merit the same treatment?
Well, it’s a really small world. And your service providers are stakeholders you need to talk to as much as your employees and customers. As people who interact closely or regularly with your enterprise, they have the potential to spread the word about your business. (Talk to referal specialists and they’ll agree that word of mouth publicity is one of the best things for your bottomlines.) If you treat them right, you create a positive impression. So, it’s better recall for your brand. And if they come across people looking for a particular service – say marketing communication – what are the chances they’ll think of your agency and add a good word or two about it? Certainly high compared to when you treat them shoddily.
That apart, service providers play a vital role in making sure your operations run smoothly. Say the ocassional ‘thank you’ with warmth or make a request while asking for the impossible, and your happy vendor may go the extra mile to make it happen. (We speak from experience. We’ve fallen for the ‘please help us make this work’ line so many times and resisted the pushy, bordering-on-the-command request.)
More than these, you have one strong reason to treat your vendors right: keeping alive your company values. If you believe in fair play and respect, let it extend to all those you interact with professionaly (and personally). Bring those values out of the brochures and web page they are confined to, and ensure your employees truly represent them even when dealing with these support personnel. After all, can’t we keep politeness and courtesy independent of business?
