Ian
Anyone who sells a product or service understands the importance of customer service. a satisfied customer is the one who will give you repeat business, refer you to others and give you much needed reputation to survive in the industry.
Companies focus on providing great customer service in order to make customers stick to them long. Let’s look at oft repeated customer service mistakes that cost companies.
Automated messages for too long
Press 1 for English. Don’t we just hate having to listen to it? So do your customers. When they have a problem, they would like to discuss it with an actual person who knows what he’s dealing with. A problem might be too specific or unique for the automated system to handle. Studies say that customer service numbers should take 3 or less entries to talk to a human. Anything more and you frustrate an already troubled customer who called in with the intention of complaining!
Promising too much
This is not just about customer service, right? It is very easy to wiggle out of a tough call with an irate customer saying you will bend backwards to help him out. But truly, how much are you willing to do for him? Don’t make promises you know you cannot keep. Overcommitting compounds the problem and the customers’ expectations exceed every time. Eventually, it will cost you majorly.
Belittling customer problems
The customer has called you because he knows not to proceed. So, listen to the issue, take diligent notes, however, trivial it is. Do not interrupt unless it is necessary. It is frustrating for the customer to hear that there is no problem when he hasn’t even started describing the problem.
Not respecting customer’s privacy
The customer does not like it when his issue is discussed outside of work, outside context. It is unprofessional to discuss the day’s customer service calls with peers. Keep customer complaints where they belong, between you and your customer. Make use of a conference room if the situation demands one and you don’t want your office peers knowing of it.
Ignoring social media
A hashtag with a complaint can go viral in hours and pop up for years together if you don’t take care of it. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have become forums for people to leave random customer complaints. So, take care of these complaints before it is blown up and damages your reputation.
Letting oft-repeated complaints stay
If a good number of your customers complain about a certain feature of your product or service, you need to change it. Get around to putting an end to the specific problem arising very often.
