Posted by Some customers leave loudly. The ones you should worry about leave quietly — the silent walkers. They drift off without telling you why, and these mistakes push them out the door.
Time is currency. Respecting a client’s time is the doorway into their cocoon — their world, their urgency, their expectations.
1. Answering the phone “Hello.”
This happens in companies of every size. If you ever answer your business line with a casual “hello” —during office hours or later — you’ve already signaled that the caller has stepped into your world — not the other way around. Wrong direction. If a client calls you after hours reaching out for help, they’ve invited you into their cocoon. Their shoes. Their reality.
When you answer formally — even if you’re wrangling kids or pouring detergent — you level the ground instantly.
The quiet customer leaves without saying why.
The Bill Suri story shows what a single professional greeting can set in motion.
In July 1983, when Venture Up first incorporated, our first step was to contact Bill, owner of Desert Mountain Sports. A legendary climber, twenty years our senior, famously crabby, universally respected. We asked if we could teach rock climbing through his store. He growled at first until we handed him our brochures. The next day he rang. David answered, “Venture Up, this is David.” That was it. The clincher.
In all Bill’s years, countless hopefuls wanted to teach under his roof, but we were the only ones to break through because we answered the phone professionally. Venture Up was on its way.
Willy retired at 17 in April 1995, with 150 well-wishers and a mariachi band celebrating. He crossed the rainbow bridge on July 17, just one month before Mason — now Venture Up’s program director — was born.
Last time we saw Bill was at our old dog Willy’s retirement party when he turned 17. Bill passed soon after. The memory is legend.
Solution: Answer the phone the same way every time. Short, simple, professional.
“Print Solutions, this is Sally.” That’s enough.
2. Full Voice Mail Box
Nothing kills momentum faster than making the effort to call, listening to a greeting — only to find out the mailbox is full. It screams lack of attention and poor management. Customers feel pushed to the back burner. Many won’t try again. Some become Quiet Walkers — the people who vanish without complaint. You never know why, because they don’t tell you. They just leave.
Solution: If your box fills fast, forward unanswered calls to a clean main message line. If someone prefers voicemail (and many boomers do), give them the space to leave one. Delete the bloat. Text works, but don’t force it on everyone.
3. Long-Winded Phone Messages
“Thank you for calling the Mystique Resort, where the sun shines 300 days a year at the home of America’s No. 1 Spa as reported by…”
By the time it’s over, you’ve forgotten why you called. Long intros signal insecurity. They drain time and ignore the caller’s cocoon entirely.
Same goes for voicemail greetings. Keep it short so they can speak.
Solution: “Thank you for calling Mystique Resort. How may I help you today?”
Done.
4. Using a Generic Email Address
In 1997 we began using [email protected] on the website since that was our email address before the site was created. Later we switched to [email protected], and it mattered more than we expected. Today, using a Gmail or Yahoo address for a business — even if you have five-star reviews — quietly undermines credibility. It reads small, even if you aren’t.
Customers look for trust signals before handing over time or money. A mismatched email address tells them you haven’t stepped into their cocoon long enough to see what they see.
Solution: Use your domain email. Even a general info@____ works, as long as your team can access it and staff respond immediately.
5. Misspelling Someone’s Name
You can mispronounce a name once and survive it. But misspelling it in writing — especially a first name — hits identity-level deep. On a subconscious level, you’ve erased the person for a moment. The larger issue: it signals you don’t notice details, starting with the most important one — who they are.
This is where Quiet Walkers multiply. A misspelled name feels small, but the cut reaches places no survey will ever capture. They won’t correct you. They’ll just drift to another vendor who sees them clearly.
Solution:
If you misspell it, acknowledge it immediately.
“I see I put an ‘h’ in your name — I’ve corrected it.”
No excuses. No side-stories about your how your Aunt Theresa spells it. Just fix it.
6. Waiting to Return Calls or Emails (1 Day = Too Late)
Responding immediately can be hard with travel, time zones, and life happening. But if a client calls, the only winning time to respond is now. You don’t need answers. You don’t need a full proposal. You just need to acknowledge the reach-out while their cocoon is still open.
We’ve heard for 40 years:
“Your program was more expensive, but we justified it because of your responsiveness.”
That isn’t an MBA trick. That’s basic human respect.
Worst offender?
“I’ll get back to you at my earliest convenience.”
That line tells the customer you’ll leave your cocoon when you feel like it. Nothing drives Quiet Walkers away faster. Likewise, when arranging a future call, ask the client what’s best for them vs. telling them: “That works best for me.” Even if it’s true, stay in their world, keep them in the driver’s seat.
Solution:
The moment you get a call, email, text, or even a forced web-form submission — respond personally.
“Just got your call. Yes, that date is open. Send details when you can and we’ll move fast.”
Five seconds. Big impact.
7. Forcing the Form
If the only way a customer can reach you is by filling out a generic form, you’ve already reduced them to robot level. Forms may sit fine with younger generations, but most Americans — of any age — want options, not a single gatekeeper. That’s why the first question savvy businesses ask is, “What’s the best way to contact you? Email? Text? Phone?”
Venture Up has never used forms. A personal call has been our signature from day one. Whatever the next generation brings, this still works: our business grows not through advertising, but through old fashioned word-of-mouth. Repeat clients and referrals generate 95 percent of our revenue.
Two Final Truths
Things unsaid never reach the survey.
Surveys collect what people feel safe saying — which is only at the surface.
Quiet Walkers hold the real data.
They walk, silently, because the small cut landed deeper than the business realized — a misspelled name, sluggish reply, bad tone, an unintended cultural nudge. They leave without a fight. They leave without a word. And they don’t come back.
Your job is simple:
Step into their cocoon early and often.
See what they see.
Catch the tiny cuts before they become exits.
This article is adapted from the forthcoming book Karate Chop: Building a Small Business Around the Life You Want.
