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Lisa Cunningham DeLauney's avatar

Memento is one of my favourite films and Guy Pearce is just a brilliant actor (and seemingly all-round nice chap). And I like your interpretation of "the customer is always right" - it is about empathy, not being "correct".

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Bette A. Ludwig, PhD 🌱's avatar

I’ve never seen this movie, but it definitely sounds unique. I can’t imagine losing my memory every five minutes. It's hard enough remembering everything now! 😂

I agree that customers often think they’re right, but some can be manipulative because they know escalating issues increases their chances of getting what they want. And honestly, they’re not always right.

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Sam Burgess's avatar

I worked in retail for 15 years and I can say for fact – the customer is often very very wrong! 🤣 But they will die on that hill and often you have to just concede and placate. (It’s usually the cheapest option too!)

Loved this article Mack, great movie to reference and great POV on marketing and customer service.

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Sam! I should have guessed you would be a fellow Memento fan 😉

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Therapy Truck's avatar

Challenge accepted! I love a puzzle and from your description this movie should be enjoyable for me. I am a bit afraid though. Maybe I won't be able to follow it and have my self-esteem pummeled? After years in retail & education, 'the customer is always right' is an adage that always rubbed me wrong until I saw it from this vantage. Everyone's just taking their journey and seeing things their way. It helps a lot when communicating with people. Thanks for the reminder.

Nolan's 'Inception" has been teasing into my life for the past few weeks. I'm taking this as the final sign that I must watch it. Which should I watch first? And thanks for the recommendation❣️

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Mack Collier's avatar

So…I’m not a huge Inception fan. It’s the only Nolan movie I have watched that I didn’t absolutely love. It’s not bad, but IMO it’s a little too complicated and too untethered from reality.

I would watch Memento first, if you love it, you would probably like Inception as well. The thing about Memento and Inception is you need to watch them more than once to get a firm grasp on what the hell you are watching lol. Memento has several scenes where if you aren’t paying attention, you will miss a key part of the plot.

I would try Memento and see what you think, please leave a comment and let me know if you liked it!

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Therapy Truck's avatar

Thanks. Will do. No worries about me missing anything. I am queen of the rewind on everything. So much so I find myself reaching for the rewind often when I’m listening to radio in the car. Man, I hope I’m smart enough to get Nolan❣️

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Hans Jorgensen's avatar

I loved Memento, and I really appreciated your explication of it and tying it to customer service.

Through my years of work in the church, I keep learning how everyone experiences and remembers stressful events differently, and how it takes time to listen and to resonate. @thescottko in a recent article shared about learning to focus on "how" we are thinking about something and not just "what" we are thinking (where we often differ). Thanks for bringing this together!

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Hans. And thank you for mentioning Scott’s article, I need to check it out. Have a great day!

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

I love this connection to Memento. Customers often aren't being dishonest. They are human.

One thing I've noticed about branding is that we obsess over what we say, not what the audience remembers. That’s why clever taglines fade, but emotions stay.

Happy Tuesday bro :)

Thank you for sharing..

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Neela. Exactly, they are human! This mentality also applies to handling customer service complaints, in many cases. The customer might be acting like an asshole, but that’s not because they are, it’s likely because they are worried they just wasted their money on a purchase when it could be a simple problem to correct.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

Thank you so much bro :)

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