I had a frustrating experience last week that reminded me how easy it is to forget that we serve others. The experience got me thinking about donor service and the six things you, as a MGO, should watch out for in your relationship to the donors on your caseload.
Here’s what happened.
For over 15 years I have done business with a company that has provided me with good service. I had been in discussions with the owner, who had provided the services, about renewing some of the current business and, in one case, buying some additional services.
I have been traveling quite a bit the last month, in different cities almost every business day, and we were trying to find a time to talk on the phone so that I could answer some questions he had.
He offered “Wednesday or Thursday” as options. I replied that I was traveling on Wednesday and in meetings all day, morning to night, on Thursday. He countered that he did not have time on Friday but “maybe Monday or Tuesday of next week could work” for him. I replied that I was traveling to New York on Monday and was in meetings from morning to night on Tuesday, and then I was traveling on Wednesday with more meetings on Thursday and Friday. And then I said: “How about we talk this Saturday or Sunday?”
And here was his reply: “I normally do not work on weekends.”
Fascinating. He normally does not work on weekends. Perhaps it’s because he is too busy spending all those commissions he earned on the business he has done with me over the last 15 years, and there just isn’t time to deal with the source of the money. Interesting. I was not happy. And I immediately got a taste of what it feels like to be treated as a source of cash. It did not feel good.
So, following my own rule not to respond immediately when I get angry, I waited for several hours and then wrote back: “Well, perhaps we could wait until next month or the month after, when the schedules clear up.” And the call was scheduled for the weekend.
Now this tiny interaction may seem like a small point. But it isn’t. Because it illustrates the fundamental lack of awareness on the part of this good man as it relates to the source of his income.
Jeff and I have heard a number of stories of MGOs putting donors off just like this. And the put off is always packaged as an “I can’t…” I can’t meet then. I can’t do this or that. I wish I could but I can’t… fill in the blank.
And the donor is left to wonder who the person of value is in the equation.
We have always said that major gift work is a 24/7 job. And that is why good MGOs do not hold to a rigid schedule for phone calls or meetings – it is about fitting in with the donor and working hard to book time when they can connect. It is also about trying as best as you can to provide the information that the donor requests, rather than responding to her with some “I can’t” excuse.
You know about bad service or bad attitudes on the part of the people you buy stuff from. You have experienced it yourself; we all have. Which is why it is amazing to me that any of us would then turn around and treat others in the same poor way we have been treated.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
The graphic at the top of this blog says that 89% of consumers stopped doing business with a company because of poor treatment. It is not surprising. I would like to get a statistic that shows what it is in the donor world.
I know that most of the donors who stop giving to an organization do so because they did not know their giving was making a difference. That’s poor donor service right there – not telling the donor what happened with their money. But I assume that many more just leave because they feel they have been treated shabbily.
Jeff and I hear the stories. No thank-you or, if there is one, it comes 100 years after the gift was given. No response to the inquiry. No sharing of requested information as if there was something to hide. Difficulty scheduling a meeting. And it goes on.
But stop a second and ask yourself WHY this happens. Why do MGOs treat their caseload donors poorly? Why do organizations regard their donors as merely financial cogs in the machine – the oil to keep the engine running? Why does this happen? More importantly, if you have a little bit of this attitude in you, how is it that you even regard your good donors this way?
It’s because you don’t – and I mean here the collective you, not necessarily YOU – it’s because you really fundamentally do not care for the donor. She is simply a utilitarian and functional source of money, and that is all she is good for. And as long as she keeps giving, then who cares what happens?
Well, that’s the problem. The donor will not keep giving with this kind of attitude. It will not happen. And that is why this six-part series on outrageous donor service begins with YOU. You are the key to great donor service. You can make things right for your donor. You are the one who will ensure that each donor on your caseload is treated with respect, honor, authenticity and mutuality.
Outrageous donor service starts with you and your attitude.
Take a moment to check on your attitude about the donors on your caseload. Are any of them a nuisance to you? Do you get a knot in your stomach when you think about some of them? How do you really feel about them? If you do not have a feeling of thankfulness, generosity and compassion for your donors, it’s time for an attitude adjustment.
Leaving things like they are is not going to work. Your donors will not stay with you or give to your cause if your attitude is not right. You are the foundation of outrageous donor service.
Richard
Series details:
- It Starts with You
- Donors Have Another Life
- Donors Care About Specific Things.
- Donors Need to be Thanked
- Donors Need to Make an Impact
- Donors Need to Give Input and Criticism
Wow – I usually really agree with and love all of your blog posts. You guys always give great advice and make good points. You know your stuff.
This post, however, has me shaking my head at what you describe as “bad service” or a bad attitude. I have to respectfully disagree with equating poor service with setting reasonable boundaries.
As a development professional, I often work at all different hours to accomodate time zones, donors’ and others’ needs, etc. I most definitely care about our donors and value them as individuals and as supporters of our mission. I do not see them as “cogs in the financial wheel” but I firmly believe in our need to set appropriate boundaries which includes setting aside personal time for family, friends and other activities or to just re-charge.
I believe that it’s a mistake that our culture/society says that we all must be available 24/7. It’s not healthy and it’s not beneficial to anyone (except perhaps people such as the writer of this blog who thinks that anyone he does business with owes him his undivided, 24-7 attention).
Of course, we all should try to make reasonable accomodations for our customers/clients/donors but when that means giving up our personal lives and our right to say no, I think we’ve lost sight of what’s truly valuable in this life.
What a shame that for many people, “good service” means being at their beck and call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Yes, I completely agree. Your position seems to be a uniquely single/childless viewpoint. The days of “dad” being able to work all hours (taking an important client to dinner and drinks at the club, etc.) while “mom” can be expected to take care of all the home tasks (i.e., feeding the children) are over. On the other hand, I do my best to be available to our wonderful donors on their schedules. I’m surprised the guy didn’t offer to call you at an odd hour of the day or get creative in some way.
Absolutely. This article puts forward a terrible point of view, one that is exactly why so many talented people in our profession experience “burnout”. In order to do this work in a focused, refreshed, mindful way, we must be able to take personal time, and a “24/7” expectation does not allow us to do that. You should be extremely grateful that that gentleman took time away from his family and friends to work with you, rather than expecting that you should be his priority. We all do our best to be available at our donors convenience, but I do not believe that they expect us to do so at the expense of our valuable time with our children/spouse/parents/siblings/friends.
Very good points. So, in retrospect, I should have added the point, that I do believe in, that MGOs and fundraising professionals also have a life and boundaries. As I have re-read my post I realize I got caught up in my frustration with how i was treated – i.e. blocked from any kind of option, that I failed to present a balanced view which is better said this way: we need to work with our donors to try as best we can to accommodate their schedules and requests while also protecting the quality of our lives. It was the total lack of perception of my struggle to find a workable time that my service provider was not getting. And THAT was frustrating to me. Very good input and it helped me get to how I feel about all of this which aligns to what you are saying. So, to be clear: good service does NOT mean being available 24/7. I think it does mean that when a donor really can’t find a time that fits and is sincerely looking, like I was in the situation I described, that we need to try, as best as we can, to accommodate her. Perhaps the use of 24/7 is what got my intended message off track. My use of those numbers means that if you are working with a reasonable donor (there are unreasonable ones) and you just can’t seem to get the contact into the work week, Jeff and I believe you need to flex to an off hours time. We would never advocate doing a major gift job at the expense of your family. But a good MGO does have to work nights and weekends at times. That is the reality of the job. I noticed that in most of the comments above the writer said something to the effect “I always try to reasonably accommodate my donor and work with what is convenient for them”. That is what I mean in this post – reasonable accommodation. It is the MGO who will not flex, ever, that I am commenting on here. And we have met many of them. I should have made that clear.
Richard,
Thanks for your reflective response to the replies listed here. They made me think of a few additional points in support.
1. Unfortunately for us MGO’s, some of our donors with the most capacity literally do work 7 days a week and are quite accustommed to people meeting them on weekends in their business life. This does not mean we want to emulate them, but just points to a mindset we must deal with and be aware of.
2. My experience has been that the need to offer a weekend meeting is fairly rare—because offering an early call time or an evening call time often solves the problem–and many times these calls can be brief.
3. One of my “rare” weekend instances came recently when a CEO donor whom I really wanted to spend more time with said he could only tour our homeless residence Saturday, “possibly,” before an upcoming trip. After checking with my residence director who agreed, we offered that time to him. It turned out that he could not fit it in, but I felt good that we had demonstarted both our willingness to stretch to meet his schedule and that we were serious about seeing him and working with him. I hoped that we had pleasantly surprised him perhaps by our ability to flex and our commitment to our business.