Billy Joel had it right. It truly is a matter of trust. If you can't trust a brand - a company - a person - nothing else they do will ever matter. Your job, above all else, is to make sure your company, your brand, heck, even you, are trusted by everyone with whom you interact. Because even just a little bit of mistrust can cause lasting damage.
Example: I'm an Apple fanboy. Have been since the 80s when my dad bought me my first Apple iie. (10 print hello, 20 go to ten, run.)
When the Apple Watch came out, I was first in line to get it, if only for the health tracking features. I love being able to work out, have all my info sync to my watch (and by default, Apple Health,) without having to do anything. It's seamless, and for someone with ADHD, having a daily calorie "streak" going is the ultimate tool to make sure I get up the next day to keep that streak alive.
So fast forward to this past January 1. I did a 90 minute bike ride, beat my calorie goal for the day right there. I look at my watch, there's the data, all good. A few days later, I happen to be scanning my info, and I notice my 600+ day streak is now at THREE DAYS. I nearly died. Sure enough, that long ride on 1/1, for some reason, "disappeared" from my watch, and Apple Health believed I only burned 20% of the calories needed to complete my goal that day. Tweets to Apple went unanswered, and even a visit to the Apple Store was fruitless (pun intended.) My streak was gone.
I sucked it up and started again. Got over 40 days, feeling good, and sure enough, yesterday morning, I noticed that I was back to three days. Another workout was "missing," despite it having been there when I checked upon completing it.
Does it matter that I'm missing the streak? Not much, as I can rebuild it, which I will. What DOES matter though, is that I now trust the entire Apple ecosystem, (on which my life is built,) just a little bit less. Who knows if this is going to happen again? The "conscious-trust" that Apple had spent years building with me isn't there anymore. Now I've got to make sure, each night, to check my watch and my numbers before I go to bed. And that's frustrating, because who knows what else they might screw up or forget in my world? Alarm clock? iCloud drive files?
Here's the thing: Had Apple replied on Twitter, even just to tell me that they were sorry, but the streak was gone, I'd have kept that trust. We all make mistakes. We're humans. But to make the mistake, and then not care in the slightest about the problem? That's where the disconnect comes in.
Be transparent. When a client or customer has a problem with something you did or didn't do, own it, get in front of it, fix it, and let them know how you're going to prevent it in the future. That's literally all you have to do nowadays to keep a customer. Sadly for Apple, that didn't happen. Am I going to leave? No. But the next time a new upgrade comes out, I probably won't be so quick to be at the front of the line.
One extra thing:
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That's it! Stay safe and healthy, drink water, and get more sleep than you think you need.
Much love on this Wednesday,
-Peter