Things I learnt running an art show (4)

As I mentioned last week, I recently managed perhaps the largest charity art show in Australia.

It was a great success with profit up 84% from the previous year. Here are some of the things I learnt along the way.

Lesson 3: Sometimes "no" is the right answer.

Among people involved in customer service there is often the belief that "the customer is always right".

This belief can lead to wasting time and money trying to satisfy unjustifiable and uneconomic requests.At an art show an artist says they would like to make an entry after the closing date for entries. The correct answer is "no".

In dental practice a patient who has failed two previous appointments wants to make another one. The correct answer is "no".

A patient says they would like to take an account. The correct answer is "no".

A patient asks for a discount. The correct answer is "no".

I'm sure you get the idea. Saying "yes" to every request a patient makes leads you into servicing a bunch of ungrateful time-wasters.

Don't fall for it.

Another lesson next week...