Because you can’t use imperatives to your customers

October 28, 2024
by Noriyuki Morimoto

When asking a customer to do something, it is a very basic rule of commerce that you state what the benefit is for the customer to meet the request. This is because you do not have the option of directing simple imperatives to your customers. A case in point is an airline’s request that passengers fasten their seatbelts, which must always be preceded by the phrase “for your safety.”

When a customer is late to make a payment, the company cannot simply tell the customer to pay up, given that they are talking to a customer. The company should first mention the customer’s benefit, which in this case is to maintain social credit or a stable business relationship, and it should be worded in such a way that it is strongly recommended to make the payment immediately.

Furthermore, while it may be considered presumptuous for a service provider to persistently warn passengers about manners in public transportation, it is acceptable only because it is based on the common interest of maintaining the comfort and convenience of all passengers.

In today’s airline industry, as is typical with security checks before boarding, the benefit of passenger safety seems to be overshadowed by the power of regulatory enforcement, which seems to run against the principle of commerce. But the regulations themselves are created to ensure the passengers’ safety in the first place.

An essential difference between the public and private sectors is that the former can coerce the public on the basis of laws and other grounds, whereas the latter can only influence people by offering some benefit, since the assumption is that each party is seeking their own interest in the transaction. Of course, since the government’s very existence is for the benefit of the people, it should also be in the public’s interest to comply with laws and regulations, but it is difficult to find a direct association with interest as in private-sector transactions.

The use of personal information is also allowed only insofar as it is beneficial to the individuals providing the information. While the government obtains and uses personal information in the exercise of state power, entities in the private sector can obtain information only by promising benefits to the owners of the information, and can use it only to the extent that it benefits the provider.

When you order for a package delivery, you tell the delivery company your address and phone number, but that personal information should be used only for the purpose of delivering the package, and should become unusable once that purpose is completed. When a customer applies for a loan, the bank demands a lot of personal information about income, assets, etc. We should not forget that the customer provides this information because it is in their interest to obtain a loan. In reality, however, many bankers seem to mistakenly believe that customers are required to provide information in accordance with bank regulations.

 

[Category /Financial Regulations]