Why  Does Your Customer Service Suck

As a customer, I know what it’s like to be on the customer's side of the counter. You want to turn over your hard-earned money for goods or services. You are then confronted with attitude, rudeness, and utter disregard for just how hard you have worked for your money. Either the service is slow and the quality of the goods is poor, or worse, the company you are patronising rigidly enforces poor policies for handling customer issues. As a business owner, I realise the cost of poor service. Poor service decreases impulse purchases, leads to a reduction in repeat business, causes a lack of referrals, and negatively impacts customer relationships. When you are trying to build a business in a competitive market, each of these is critical to your success. In an environment where customers have a dozen or more purchase options, it is imperative that great care be taken to build your business. How are you doing at building your business with customer service? Consider how you would handle the following customer interactions: (1) A customer purchased a $10 item and now wants to return it. Your policy is no refunds. This is a customer who has shopped at your establishment many times. Do you return the item or enforce the policy? If you must, gently remind the customer of your policy, but you should absolutely refund or exchange the product to the customer's satisfaction. When customers enter your business, are they greeted warmly or ignored? At the very least, do you make eye contact and smile? A warm and hearty "hello" will work in almost any environment. Do this with each customer. A smile would be the icing on the cake. (3) Do your employees say "Thank you" and smile after each customer purchase? Or do they simply hand the customer their bagged item and say, "next?" just two little words, and only eight characters long. Just say it. It goes a long way to building goodwill and customer relationships. It gives the perception that you are nice and friendly. Don’t forget to smile. (4) Are you on the phone or conversing with other employees during customer interactions? Or are you focused 100% on the customer? It is downright rude to be doing anything other than focusing on your customer during a transaction. (5) A customer walks into your store and spends the entire time reading product labels. Do you leave the customer there to fend for themselves, or do you offer the customer your expert opinion on the products you offer? More often than not, the customer will be left alone. Go help them. If they want to be left alone, let them tell you so. What do you think customers do when they encounter great customer service? They become advocates for you and help to build your business by referring others to you. They become loyal to you, completing like-purchases exclusively at your establishment. Fantastic service is what makes customers want to shop with you despite a higher price or the inconvenience of distance. Even if you are providing a lower-quality product or service, fantastic customer service can help you compensate for it. It gives you an incredible, low-cost competitive advantage. To improve your customer’s experience, start by changing yourself. Change your attitude when handling customer issues. Be friendly and liberal versus stern when implementing policy. This may require you to convince yourself that you can afford great service. Do the math and you will discover that it will cost you less to take care of that customer now and build a life-long patron. Set an example by regularly chatting with customers and enthusiastically pitching in to solve hard problems. Next, challenge your employees by asking them to step up their game. Catch them providing great service and provide some simple verbal recognition. Constantly bring up and talk about how important it is to set yourself apart with great service. Create a bulletin board in your employee only area, and post positive comments from customers. If a customer verbally tells you something great, type it up and post it on the board. For employees that just don’t get it, try to understand why and help them with some training, coaching, and counseling. Beginning with your next customer, begin building that essential customer service foundation. Offer a friendly smile, a warm greeting, and a caring attitude. Engage in aimless small talk, genuinely go the extra mile, and try to truly understand the other person.