How do you treat strangers, could they be a customer too?

I love to read short blogs sometimes…and I love to write them too. This is one of those short ones; Blogs don’t always need to be long.

It’s about strangers. And Customers

We know we have paid customers

We know we have internal customers

We know we have potential – future customers

We even know we have lost customers

But what about strangers as customers?

What do you mean, Nancy?

I mean – Are strangers your customers?

Let me explain –

We sit next to strangers on the airplane, in movie theaters, buses, trains, restaurants – all sorts of places.　　

We inter-act with them. Often in depth Some tell us their life story before we even get a name and sometimes we never do get a name. We often tell strangers our darkest secrets. Therapeutic that it is; strange isn’t it?

We shop next to strangers – we talk to all sorts of strangers. Even though we were warned as a child NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS. Ever !

We say “excuse me” to strangers when we bump into them at the mall.　　 We say “thank you” to a stranger who might help us carry a package – or pick up something we dropped or hold a door for us.　 When a stranger says “thank you” to us – we invariably tell them “you’re welcome”.

There is even a great old movie (shown above) called “Strangers on a Train” remember it?　It is about two strangers who meet up on a train and decide they should kill each other’s spouses. (I’m not saying it’s a good idea – simply revealing the plot)

Often times at Christmas there are folks running around giving money to strangers. People they don’t know – and will probably never see or talk with again. We donate money to strangers all the time.

We tip strangers at restaurants. Sure, they do a job for us. But nevertheless they are still strangers.　

So I ask you – Are you nicer to strangers than you are your customers?

Or are strangers your customers?

Could They be a Customer?