Yesterday was an exquisite February day in Atlanta, the sun was shining, it was unseasonably warm, even the birds were singing. So I grabbed my dogs, Keely and Rainier, and we headed out to the dog park. I was sure that it would be packed because of how beautiful the day was, but my dogs are very friendly so I was not worried about the crowds. I put their bright colored bandannas on them so they would be easy to spot and we were off.
As we made our way to the dog park area, there were lots of people and lots of dogs just as I had suspected. I noticed the people coming from the dog area seemed a little frustrated. I didn’t think too much about it, and my guys were so excited that we stayed the course. Right as we were about to enter the large dog park, a pretty ferocious dog fight broke out. The owner of the dog who started the fight tried to break it up to no avail, and after several other dog owners stepping in the fight was over. In spite of the fight, we still entered and I took my dogs to the other side of the park away from the commotion but there were more then several folks gathering up their dogs and leaving as we made our way across the park. NowI knew why the people we had passed on the way in were so frustrated. Unfortunately, that was not the only altercation with that particular dog during our time at the park yesterday, and it had several people up in arms. Many people felt that the owner should immediately remove the over aggressive dog. And of course discussion began about the rules of the dog park, written and unwritten. Most people were really unclear as to what the process was for removing the owner and the over aggressive dog, so they were leaving and in frustration.
The rules at the dog park are clearly posted but there, just as in most communities, there’s also a set of unwritten rules or guidelines if you will. The incident yesterday got me to thinking about the unwritten rules or guidelines that brands expect us to follow when interacting with them: whether it be inside their communities, customer service inquiries or even sales. Simply put we all have expectations on both sides of the transaction: a)customers expect satisfaction or resolve and b) businesses expect customers to follow a process. The rub comes when there’s a break down on either side. My question is do you have unwritten rules of engagement for your brand that need to be written or clarified? Are your rules of engagement clear and easy to understand? Are they posted in a place that’s easy to find? Customers thrive in predictable environments even when they don’t get their way. Take a look around do you have expectations or guidelines that need to be clarified?
