I am an entrepreneur and have always maintained that serving the customer to the last brink is highly essential. In fact this is what I proposed at the NASSCOM EMERGE forum (http://blog.nasscom.in/emerge/2008/11/13/the-shore-is-near-together-well-make-it-through/)

Sanjay, I agree to you, times are tough and we have to touch base and keep up with our clients, holding them tight, coz we all are sailing in the same boat, and my belief is that, this time will help us forge amazingly strong relationships with the clients, which will mean stable business once the situation improves and settles!

Cheers,
Paritosh

Very pertinent in the current times…

Your comment about a personal loss (financial or otherwise), when losing a customer or a part of the customer’s business, I would think, is actually hitting a lot of Corporate Executives hard as well – right now…

I have an entire set of friends in India and elsewhere (unfortunately not in AIG, Citi or any other bailed out blue chip), who have taken a hit on their annual incentives because customers pulled out! And that impacts you – if not on your survival measures such as groceries or your children’s education – but definitely on any of those extras that you may have budgeted for…

Your car washer man – of course – it would hit him where it hurts most…!

Cheers!

Retaining your business was very important to the washer man, but even in less critical instances the effort of making a pitch and putting your point across can only help the business.