While the LBM industry is one of the last and slowest to exit the technological Stone Age, it is embracing modern systems. But when I look at companies in all business sectors that are described as being ahead of us on the evolutionary road, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: They’re forcing new technologies down consumers' throats.
Many of these companies let technology dictate their customer service and allow the information created by technology to dictate decisions. They have relegated their entrepreneurship to artificial intelligence.
For instance, there are national builders that developed paperless portals to pay suppliers and subcontractors with no regard for those who lack the expertise or ability to submit online invoices. This has happened despite common knowledge that tradespeople in most construction businesses are among the least apt at handling online paperwork and technology. Merely by the complexity of their technology and bureaucracy, many builders are disqualifying potential great business partners and tradespeople—and then they complain about a labor shortage.
I am not a fan of food buffets, nor am I a fan of self-checkout. I see self-checkout as a method in which the business reduces customer service and makes me do its work. I am also petrified that I will inadvertently miss an item in my self-checkout and will be accused of theft. Why in the world should I do the store’s work at the risk of being accused of shoplifting? I get that some consumers like it because it is fast and they are in control, but, to me, it’s a clear demonstration of how customer service is being sacrificed by technology.
There are some companies that demand customers pay them in a certain way. Many won’t accept cash, others demand that payments be made in special portals, and most think CODs are absolutely out of the question. Oddly, technology has made paying in all forms so much easier while reducing the chance of fraud, if simple procedures are followed. Yet, there are companies in our industry today that will not take payments for merchandise in ways outside of their technology. If we truly have great customer service, shouldn’t the customers be able to pay for merchandise in the manner they choose?
Companies that are zealots of online commerce are coming, and they will stomp the heart and soul out of customer service because nothing matters but their processes. I encountered this trying to buy group tickets for the Orlando City Soccer Club, a pro team that pushes group sales. There are no printed tickets for Orlando City SC; they do not accept them, and you cannot print them at home. Tickets are sent to your smartphone, and if you buy group tickets you must electronically transfer each ticket via their app to your guests no sooner than 72 hours before the event.
In our industry, free tickets are swapped around until the first game whistle blows. Plus, many people won’t go to an event without a hard ticket in hand. After calling, I was told that Orlando City SC is committed to paperless tickets and they plan on leading the sporting industry in electronic ticketing.
Needless to say, I won’t be purchasing group soccer tickets, and if this is the future of ticketing, stadiums will continue to empty. If I can’t provide easy, no-hassle tickets for my customer, why buy them?
I love new technology, but not at the expense of customer service. If the new technology helps me more than my customer, then it is probably designed for the wrong reason. Just because something is new doesn’t make it better, and those executives who put their customers first will ultimately win despite any new technology their competitors may implement.
