Want Vs. Need: The Story of Customer Service

Read an interesting story in Slate about why people hate the cable company. The basic premise is that cable companies (and ISP's and airlines and health insurance providers, etc.) don't sell you something you want, they sell you something you need.  We don't want cords and cables sticking into our TV's and computers, we want Mad Men, and YouTube.  But in order to get Mad Men and YouTube, we need the cords and cable service.

So, there is really no way you are ever going to feel good about buying cable TV or Internet service.  At best, you are going to be totally neutral about it and forget it's there while you enjoy the shows and websites you actually want.

And our entire system of customer service is built around the delineation between want and need.

If you sell something that people really want, you HAVE to provide a decent level of customer service.  Because that want - left unfulfilled, or disappointed - will drive them somewhere else to get it or get it better.  That's why hotels and TV's and restaurants tend to have the highest customer satisfaction ratings among consumers.  You want a nice hotel, a great TV and a wonderful restaurant and if one fails you, you can go to the next one.

But, if you need something - connection to the internet, a pipe that brings you 300 channels, or a plane that is the only conveyance to that tropical vacation paradise - you are at the mercy of the provider.

And I'm not saying that the businesses and services in the NEED camp, aren't governed by competition. They are.  Yes, there are different ways to get ESPN, and there are different and competing companies that can bring you great cat videos and there are a lot of airlines. But, those businesses know something intrinsic about their customers that puts them in the cat-bird seat regarding service:

When customers need something, they are fearful that the something will go away.  And that fear allows the provider to jerk the customer around and consistently lower your service level.  They are going to put up with it -because it's a need.

However, when a customer wants something, they are more patient.  More willing to shop around and more willing to push back against the service provider.

Want is a reflection of customer power; need is a reflection of company power.