Prior to the count last night, there was a 30 minute (used to be 1 hour) 'Red Carpet Coverage' where you see the players and their dates dressed up and I add my commentary of 'that's nice' or 'why did they wear that?'
Now I don't have very high expectations for the Red Carpet – simply show me as many players as possible with their dates so I can see who attended from each Club and make comments on which outfits I liked or didn't like.
Not rocket science nor a difficult task I would've thought.
But every year Channel 7 chooses to show 'behind the scenes' footage they think we're interested in - rather than seeing the outfits.
In the past, it's been players picking out their suits and this year, they shared the logistics of the event including the food.
As usual, I became quite frustrated and did a bit of yelling 'who cares' at the TV. Put the behind the scenes footage on 7plus so I can catch up on it later if I'm interested.
And they kept talking to the same 10 or so of their 'favourite' players and replaying the same outfits we'd already seen.
Then we head into the ballroom for the count and I'm hoping previous complaints of the event expressed on social media and talkback radio have been addressed.
Alas, I was once again wrong.
Instead of just getting on with the count, we had numerous Channel 7 commentators continually interrupting it by interviewing players who were leading or in with a shot and asking them, 'How do you think you're going?'.
To which my response is Who cares because my only expectation as a viewer is:
Show me the votes for each round, and for bonus points, who's on every Club's table.
BTW: They didn't get the bonus points.
As a Channel 7 customer that night, they failed miserably in meeting what I believed to be reasonable, and not outlandish, expectations.
So now think about your small business.
Are you really meeting your customers' expectations or are you disappointing them by default?
Regardless of your answer, I encourage you to review the 3 ways Channel 7 continues to disappoint its Brownlow night customers to heed the lessons for your small business.
3 Ways Channel 7 Disappointed Its Brownlow Medal Customers
1. Offering lip service to previous complaints
The coverage was very much what Channel 7 wanted to do and this wasn't changing, regardless of how many complaints have been previously received by the station, or on talk back radio or social media.
2. Didn't understand (or care) about their customer's (audience) minimum expectations
Only showed and chatted to a few players (usually the same ones each year) instead of as many players as possible, from all the Clubs – not just a select few.
3. Disrespecting the process and players
As expected, it was a very tight count and Channel 7 not only promoted the five favourites at the beginning of the telecast, but kept coming back to them throughout the night, asking awkward questions like 'do you think you'll poll enough in the next two rounds to win?'.
Now put yourself in the player's shoes (aka your customers).
Do you really think they wanted to be put in these awkward and embarrassing situations?
Of course not. They are humble individuals who are team rather than 'I' focused, and they just want to be left alone to enjoy the night with their teammates and see if they are successful.
You could feel the awkwardness and cringe factor through the TV as I felt for these players who were doing their best to be diplomatic.
