Amazing Grace

I was reading from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis this morning (from Book 3, 54th chapter "The Different Motions of Nature and Grace") and my thoughts began to turn to the concept of grace in general.

Before I proceed, I suppose a little background might be helpful. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. All humankind have sinned and separated from God, and through grace in the person of God - Jesus Christ - we can be reconciled.

I also believe that what we believe as people completely defines us. So this belief shapes everything I am and everything I do (or it should anyways, sometimes I fall quite short of this, but that's another matter entirely).

To get to the point at hand - bear with me here - my least favorite saying of all time is "It's not business, it's personal." Of course it's personal! Are you kidding me? Business is about relationships - relationships by definition are personal. We should act in business as we act at home. We should act at work as we act in life. Far too often these days I hear people justifying decisions as "just business". Our livelihoods depend on "business"; our families depend on "business" -- my kids' futures are dependent on my "business".

Back to grace.... The best definition I have ever heard of grace is "God's unmerited favor." So, if grace is such a powerful concept, one that I build my understanding of God around, what about my business? Should we treat our customers with grace? Does that even make sense?

Of course it does! Customers shouldn't have to earn our respect. They shouldn't have to jump through hoops to purchase from us. Unmerited favor is a good concept to build our customer service philosophy around. What a great way to capture new customers and keep the ones we have. Isn't that what a good salesperson does when they approach a prospect? They treat them with unmerited favor in order to begin to build a relationship and create an emotional connection that will hopefully, eventually, compel them to buy. Isn't that how we handle a customer service issue, even when it is not the result of anything we did wrong? The customer orders the wrong item, we correct it. The customer changes their mind - that's O.K., we help them find something different.

Sure, there are points when the customer is unwilling to be helped no matter what, and there are other times when, as companies, we have to refuse to do business with certain clients. But these are the exceptions, never the rule.

For me, its simple. God has treated me with grace, so what choice do I have? That is how I should treat my family, my friends and my enemies. So, if business truly is personal, I think a little unmerited favor would go along way with our customers.