{"id":1594,"date":"2011-09-06T17:03:41","date_gmt":"2011-09-06T21:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2011-09-06T17:20:54","modified_gmt":"2011-09-06T21:20:54","slug":"whos-my-customer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html","title":{"rendered":"Who’s my customer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On April 23, 1985, one of the largest marketing bungles was made by Coca-Cola when they introduced a new formulation of the Coke. \u00a0This is a company known as the leader marketing expert in the world. \u00a0No matter where you travel around the world, you can purchase a Coke in the familiar shaped bottle, designed after the cacao bean pod. \u00a0Yet, using extensive marketing research, the Coke officials changed the 99 year old formula. \u00a0Customers rebelled with a vengeance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There was little doubt that blindfolded people preferred the new taste. \u00a0More than 200,000 people were tested. \u00a0What the Coca-Cola company didn’t take into account was what their customers actually wanted. \u00a0And a change in taste was not what they expected or desired.<\/p>\n

When The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community, visited Presbyterian Church of the Good Shepherd in Melbourne, I overheard a conversation by retired CEO, Mike Carnes. \u00a0He said, “To survive, I must serve my customer. \u00a0Determining who is my customer is easy. \u00a0Anyone who needs anything from me is my customer,” he concluded. \u00a0Interestingly, Carnes was not talking about the corporate world but the church. \u00a0“When you visit a five-star resort, everyone from the general manager to the gardener has one primary job–making sure that all the needs of their guests are satisfied,” Carnes concluded. \u00a0Most of us haven’t stayed at a five-star resort. \u00a0Nevertheless, if you have ever visited Disneyland, Disney World or sailed on a Disney Cruise, you’ve experienced this concept.<\/p>\n

When I go to my local Wal-Mart, I have every employee at my bid. \u00a0Perhaps other Wal-Marts are different. \u00a0I can only speak about the ones that I shop at frequently. \u00a0The same is true with the Publix supermarkets. \u00a0Each time I pass a Publix employee they ask, “Can I help you? \u00a0Have your found everything you need?” \u00a0If I need their help, they escort me to the correct aisle and they find the item for me. \u00a0That is why I keep going back.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Makes shopping a pleasure but how does this apply to the church? \u00a0Whether I’m a Christian, a full-time pastor, or a Sunday school teacher, I am a representative of the Christ who died for the church. \u00a0He came as a servant to humankind, can I expect any less from my life?<\/p>\n

It is certain that there is no “how to” list that will explain how we are to meet the needs of the people we encounter. \u00a0The needs are varied and distinct. \u00a0The people will be touched in a unique way. \u00a0However, we can learn to listen to hear what the needs are. \u00a0<\/p>\n

This week Chris’ father died. \u00a0She is a member of The Special Gathering. \u00a0On Sunday, I took her and three other friends out to lunch as a token of my acknowledgement that I understand her grief. \u00a0After lunch, I asked if she would like to go and visit with her sister. \u00a0Chris had not expressed a desire to visit her sister. \u00a0But each time I’d been to visit with her during the past week when her father was in the dying process, she would call her sister and fill her in on his decline.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Because her sister had been sick during the last days of her father’s life, Chris had not seen her for about a week. \u00a0When I mentioned visiting her sister, Chris smiled slightly and said, “Sure.” \u00a0There was little emotion in her voice but that was a normal Chris reaction. \u00a0Yet, when we got to the sister’s home, she had prepared for Chris a large box of mementos, pictures and family items that meant a great deal to Chris. \u00a0As we went through the box, examining and explaining each item, Chris began to cry. This was an emotional response that neither her sister or I had expected from the no-drama Chris.<\/p>\n

Listening could be more difficult than acting. \u00a0However, listening is definitely the key to knowing the needs of every person you meet. \u00a0Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.” \u00a0Who is my customer? \u00a0I hear Jesus saying to me, “Anyone who needs your help.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 23, 1985, one of the largest marketing bungles was made by Coca-Cola when they introduced a new formulation of the Coke. \u00a0This is a company known as the leader marketing expert in the world. \u00a0No matter where you travel around the world, you can purchase a Coke in the familiar shaped bottle, designed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,182,40,186,49,16,147,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,14,7,699,715,701,694,689,6,700],"class_list":["post-1594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-disability","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-death-and-dying","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nWho's my customer? - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who's my customer? - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On April 23, 1985, one of the largest marketing bungles was made by Coca-Cola when they introduced a new formulation of the Coke. \u00a0This is a company known as the leader marketing expert in the world. \u00a0No matter where you travel around the world, you can purchase a Coke in the familiar shaped bottle, designed…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-06T21:03:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-09-06T21:20:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/09\/450px-CocaColaBottle_background_free-225x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who's my customer? - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who's my customer? - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"On April 23, 1985, one of the largest marketing bungles was made by Coca-Cola when they introduced a new formulation of the Coke. \u00a0This is a company known as the leader marketing expert in the world. \u00a0No matter where you travel around the world, you can purchase a Coke in the familiar shaped bottle, designed…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2011-09-06T21:03:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-09-06T21:20:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/09\/450px-CocaColaBottle_background_free-225x300.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html","name":"Who's my customer? - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/09\/450px-CocaColaBottle_background_free-225x300.jpg","datePublished":"2011-09-06T21:03:41+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-06T21:20:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/09\/450px-CocaColaBottle_background_free-225x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/09\/450px-CocaColaBottle_background_free-225x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/09\/whos-my-customer.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who’s my customer?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1594"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1606,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions\/1606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}