Lessons From The Oldest Written Customer Complaint
The oldest written customer complaint was angrily written about 3,750 years ago, A man named Nanni wrote a letter to express his dissatisfaction with the quality of copper ingots (chunks of copper ore) he received from a merchant name Ea-nasir.
This transaction occurred n the Middle Bronze Age, at the time when copper and its alloys, bronze, and brass were primarily used for making useful and decorative objects.
The merchant (Ea-nasir) had promised to supply high-quality copper ingots to Nanni whenever he sent a certain Gimil-Sin over with payment. Nanni had on that basis sent a messenger (Sit-Sin) on a long risky voyage that involved traveling through enemy territory only to be given “low quality” ingots.
Read the translation of the complaint below –
3,750 year customer complaintWhen you came, you said to me as follows: “I will give Gimil-Sin (when he comes) fine quality copper ingots.” You left then, but you did not do what you promised me. You put ingots which were not good before my messenger (Sit-Sin) and said: “If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!”
What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt? I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves to collect the bag with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them back to me empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory.
Is there anyone among the merchants who trade with Telmun who has treated me in this way? You alone treat my messenger with contempt! On account of that one (trifling) mina of silver which I owe(?) you, you feel free to speak in such a way, while I have given to the palace on your behalf 1,080 pounds of copper, and umi-abum has likewise given 1,080 pounds of copper, apart from what we both have had written on a sealed tablet to be kept in the temple of Samas.
How have you treated me for that copper? You have withheld my money bag from me in enemy territory; it is now up to you to restore (my money) to me in full.
Take cognizance that (from now on) I will not accept here any copper from you that is not of fine quality. I shall (from now on) select and take the ingots individually in my own yard, and I shall exercise against you my right of rejection because you have treated me with contempt.”
Apparently, instead of remedying the situation with a good apology or an effort to make things right, Ea-nasir rudely told the servant
“If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!”
This lack of empathy from Ea-nasir is what drove Nanni through the process of inscribing his displeasure on a clay tablet. Think of how mad he must have been to expend the resources used in the production of the complaint.
Nanni is definitely not going to buy ingots anymore from Ea-nasir, he is also going to share his experience with a number of people like-
- His family
- Friends
- Clay tablet maker
- Inscriber
- Folks at the Palace & Temple of Samas, and…
Over 3,000 years later, history has it on record that a copper dealer named Ea-Nasir failed to live up to his customers’ expectations.
None of these had to happen, if Ea-nasir had set the customer’s expectations appropriately, or lived up to his promise. It is important to always remember that in business, customers expect you to –
- Do what you say you would do
- Do it how you say you would do it
- Do it fast
- Do it right the first time
- Be nice while you’re at it (your peers treat me very well)
Food for thought: Is your organization living up to its brand promise?
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