The Company-Customer Pact

How to Use the Pact

If you represent a company, invite your customers and employees to get familiar with these values in the public spaces where you engage.

As a customer, you can direct companies to the Pact to encourage productive, open conversations.

We, customers and companies alike, need to trust the people with whom we do business. Customers expect honest, straightforward interactions where their voices are heard, before, during, and between purchases. Companies work to inspire customer satisfaction and brand loyalty by constantly improving the products and services they offer.

It is evident that we all have a crucial stake – and responsibility – in transforming the adversarial tone that all too often dominates the customer experience. If we work together and share the responsibility of furthering effective conversation, we can build mutually respectful long-term relationships.

By adopting these five, practical values, we can together realize a meaningful shift in our business relationships.

CompaniesCustomers
1
Be Human
 Use a respectful, conversational voice. Avoid scripts and corporate doublespeak. Be understanding. Show the respect and kindness that you'd like shown to you.
2
Be Accessible
 Cultivate a public dialogue with customers and demonstrate your responsiveness and willingness to be held accountable. Share issues directly with the company or in a place where the company has a chance to respond.
3
Be Authentic
 Encourage employees to use their real names and offer a personal touch. Use your real identity and foster a long-term reputation with the company.
4
Be Patient
 Some problems take longer to fix than expected, so do your best to set clear expectations for how you will address issues. Give companies the information and time required to adequately address issues.
5
Be Productive
 Do your best to keep the conversation going. Demonstrate good intentions by speaking candidly with customers as you work toward a solution. Be ready to continue conversations you begin. Give companies the benefit of the doubt while they work toward a solution.