Six Customer Service Mistakes
Customer service has become a key driver of customer retention and loyalty as it’s been proven to create more profitable business results. Organizations with foresight now take Customer service very seriously. But the truth is – Even the most customer centric companies make customer service mistakes, this can be as a result of varying causes. The important thing is to recognize these errors & fix them ASAP.
Here are 6 common Customer Service mistakes organizations are making
Hiring The Wrong People
Exceptional customer service begins with the hiring process. Selecting the right people on board that have the passion and skills for customer service is the first step towards delivering exceptional service at your business.
Treating Employees Poorly
Your employees and customers are closely linked; as what affects one, also impacts on the other. Disengaged or unhappy employees cannot provide a exceptional customer experience
Poor Staff Training
Poorly trained customer service reps can cost you Customers (and money). Staff who are properly trained demonstrate better customer service skills, and professionalism, this improves customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty.
Training and providing quality customer service training for employees also yields great results in – staff retention, employee commitment and company culture.
Standing by Company Policy … No Matter What
As time changes, certain policies might become unrealistic or redundant. Don’t treat your policies like the 10 commandments. You will find that at times you might have to bend over a little to win that big Customer or resolve that one problem that was “out of the ordinary”. This is one way to truly WOW a customer.
Failing to Listen to Customers
It is important to pay attention to Customer feedback, whether it’s in response to a questionnaire/survey or hidden within the angry words of a dissatisfied Customer. Complaining customers are valuable in terms of honest feedback they can provide.
Feedback will provide a business with insight that they can use to improve business, products and/or overall customer experience, this insight will also help create products that customers want to buy and an experience that exceeds their expectations and keeps them coming back for more.
Ignoring the Basics
The basics i mean here are – the simple smile, saying welcome when the Customer arrives, thank you when they leave & “we’re sorry” when you fail or disappoint. Most times we forget that it is the simple things that bring the most happiness or even that a simple smile can be powerful in human interaction. Expressing gratitude for a customer’s business is an undeniable way to win them for the long term.
We must accept that no matter how big our organization is, we can still make customer service mistakes. The important thing is that you strive to give excellent customer service every day, and avoid these six mistakes, you’ll be better positioned to sustain your success and grow profitably for years to come.
Do you have any other examples of customer mistakes you’ve seen organisations make? Share the details in the comments below!
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Breeding disgruntled staff is one of the biggest customer service mistakes organisations make. An unhappy employee is most likely going to be frustrated and lose patience with customers. Nice write up
Well put…
Companies that are monopolies or oligopolies don’t care about customer service. They pay lip service to the idea. I worked for Dish for six months in one of their “service centers” and I know the drill. Answer the phone and complete the call in seven minutes of less regardless of the reason for that call. Lie, misinform, drop that call, whatever one has to do to make the time constraint. Customer service be damned.
For the rest of you, those who are the small businesses or even medium size, customer service does matter. Customers are the reason why your business exists and you have a paycheck, pure and simple. Your employees don’t need a team of cheerleaders standing around with rousing motivational cheers. Your employees only need to be taught that good service means a paycheck. They need to understand that if mistakes happen then the mistake must be made good. Mistakes happen, can’t be helped, and beating your people for them is the wrong motivational tool. Training employees means understanding what each particular employee needs to know and how to use the appropriate skills to do the job. Scripts are fine as guidelines but the customer knows when you are using one and it sounds so insincere. When I call for service and I have to listen to a minute of scrip complete with branding and insincere greetings I am immediately turned off and assume a hostile attitude. Why? Because you think me stupid. If you must use a script then something like, “Hello, I’m Lisa in (department) at (name of company). I am like to respond with, “Hello Lisa, my problem is (whatever it is). “Thank you Mr (whatever name is) for describing the problem. May I ask a few additional questions?”
Notice that in fifteen or twenty seconds we are getting to the heart of the matter. Remember that I may have had to wait ten minutes listening to insipid canned music designed to “sooth my emotions” and I know it. If you want to know just how good or bad your service is, you, the boss, and you the employee, should call yourselves up with a fake problem and see what kind of service is being provided. Maybe that is why I have never had Dish for any service. Most people operate on a simple principle, either it works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t then I want it fixed now. If you are a service manager or employee, then this is what you need to know to make your business better.
Wow william, this is spot on! I agree monopolies and their sorts can afford to get away with sloppy service, however that will be a weakness potential competition can leverage upon. I’ve gotten great insights from your comment and i truly appreciate it 🙂
Thank you for your kind words. My initiation into customer service came when I was a young man learning a craft. The desire to master that craft and become one of the paragons of quality leads to dedication to customer service. You see, when you think of your supervisor and your company as your immediate customer then the rest follows. Customer service consists of the little things in life. I was a telephone cable splicer back when it was a craft. One day I had a job to do on a telephone pole in a customer’s back yard. I had finished placing a new terminal and cutting over to the new cable for immediate service. We clean up after ourselves when we work but who pays attention to small wire cuttings of one to two inches? As I was putting my tools away in my truck the woman who owned the house came up with most of those very small wire clippings. She said, “I think you forgot these.” Then she left. Think about that for a minute. customers teach us what they believe is important about service. Yes, her telephone had only been out of service for five minutes but it was what I had left behind that mattered. She expected her telephone to work but she expected that I not leave any trash, no matter how small, behind. She increased my awareness of service and I made it a practice to never leave even the smallest bit of trash behind. The moral of the story is that you cannot provide excellent service unless you have dedication to excellent quality. In a way, you are your own customer when you demand excellence in your work and in your life.
That is a great story william, an attitude of excellence will inspire anyone to achieve more.
I wonder what society would be like if everyone were to have this attitude in all that they do?
Thank you for sharing this story
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