Do your customers trust you to do right by them…even when they’re not looking?

Last weekend, I stopped by a local meat market to pick up some ground chuck. The lady in front of me asked the butcher to cut some ribs in half for her, so he took the meat into the back and got to work on it with a hand saw.

From where I was standing I could see the butcher through a window.  Just as he finished sawing, half of the meat fell on the floor. And just as quickly, he turned to look through the window to see if any customers had witnessed his mistake.

Yep. He turned to look!

This should be rule #1 in the butcher handbook: if you drop a piece of meat on the floor, throw it away without hesitation. Don’t look around to see if you can get away with the five-second rule. Don’t even think about it. Just pitch the meat!

Why? No one wants a steak that tastes like the bottom of your boot. But more importantly, your customers’ trust is worth far more than salvaging 49 cents worth of product.

Do your customers know that you always have their best interest in mind? Do they know you’d never steer them wrong when recommending a product or solution just to make a quick sale? Do they know you’d never “drop the meat” and try to pass it off onto them?

If not, your brand is susceptible to damage. So, see to it that honesty and integrity permeate your corporate culture. And work on building implicit trust with your customers. Without it, you stand no chance of developing successful, long-term relationships.

Believe me. I’m looking for a new meat market.