Several years ago, I was working with a client and they were involved in multiple projects that included building out a proper e-commerce business. There were many problems with their IT department. And even more problems with their cybersecurity practice. They were sloppy with their phone procedures, lax in their update’s procedures. They did not even have policies for most of their cybersecurity activities.
This would, of course, result in multiple cybersecurity incidents ongoing most of the time. Phishing attacks, brute force attacks, denial of service attacks, ransomware attacks. It was a constant collection of issues and fire drills. What I explained to them was that they were marked as a target by different entities in the cybercriminal world. The perception was that they were a soft target and fair game for whoever could exploit them. And what I found through my consulting and observation was that this company had a terrible customer service record.
Blink
Malcolm Gladwell an amazing writer and observer of human behavior wrote about this phenomenon in his book “Blink” where he talks about the ways the human mind works and how humans interact with each other. It is a fascinating study on the reason why humans do certain things. He shows what can happen in the blink of an eye.
One of these observations was the issue of so many malpractice lawsuits against doctors. The insurance industry who was tasked with covering this liability eventually figured it out. What they found was that people did not sue their doctor even if the doctor was negligent if they liked the doctor. But if the doctor was disliked, then the negligence of the doctor did not really matter so much to the patient. If they felt slighted, then they could feel justified in suing him.
So, the insurance industry started training the doctors on how to treat patients with more dignity and respect. Go back in your own memory and look at how doctors acted 20 years ago and how they behave today, and you will see a noticeable difference.
The same is true for the customer service of a company. If people feel that the customer service, they received from a company. Then the customer had no problem sharing this information and hurting this company in any way they could. Including releasing sensitive information about the company and eventually some of that information getting into the hands of bad actors or cybercriminals.
What Is Your Operation Like?
What does it look like in your company? Are people happy to be working there? Are your customers happy to do business with you? Or do they just do business with you because they have to or have no choice? And do your employees treat them this way?
I suggest you scrutinize this carefully. The link is clear but sometimes hard to locate. But good customer service leads to good cybersecurity. Not only in the overall quality of your operation but in how your customers feel about your company personally.