The bar is so low to provide good customer service.
In the past few weeks, I’ve dealt with a service advisor, a store manager, and a customer satisfaction specialist in an attempt to resolve different problems. I leave the conversation shaking my head as to their poor handling of my complaint. It’s one thing when a front-line employee is mediocre, but when your job is service there are higher expectations that you will actually provide it.
— An online retailer was prompt in authorizing a return but it took three chat sessions and several emails with customer service to actually get the return label from them.
— I had a warranty repair on my car that required several trips to the out-of-town dealership. I received no apology or acknowledgment of my multi-month inconvenience, rather “we get a lot of those problems which is why the part was back-ordered.” It didn’t exactly make me want to buy another vehicle from them.
— A complaint about restaurant staff handling money and making sandwiches with the same gloves on earned me 33 reward points — even though the reward structure is in multiples of six. The response said: “You have 10 more points to go before you earn your reward.” Why not give me the extra 10 points so I would be prompted to come in now for a free sandwich before I thought about the unsanitary behavior long enough that I never returned?
There are multiple studies and statistics that calculate the impact of poor customer service on future business. People tell others, write negative reviews that impact other sales, and stop doing business there themselves. And the converse is true: effective handling of service complaints can actually increase the customer’s perception of the organization. Spend as much effort to keep your customers as you do to get them. “I’m sorry” is a good start.
