Bye Bye Customer Service – 7 Ways to Prevent Losing Customers

Another article about Customer Service? We have all come to expect poor customer service, so why bother to read another article about it.

Really what it comes down to is how much do you care about your clients, and more specifically how your employees treat your clients. Frankly some companies can get away with poor customer service because there is little or no competition.

• ER Surgeons – When your in the ER, do you ever get to pick your doctor?
• Nurses – You may get a bad one, but complaining will not help because of the shortage of nurses
• Sanitation Engineers – Garbage Men can flip your trash can onto your roof, and the only thing complaining will do is stop your garbage from getting picked up.

Often I would put state or locally funded employees or “businesses” into the same category. They can be protected by unions, or organizations that make it nearly impossible for anyone to lose their job, so why would it matter if they provide good customer service.

On the other hand, most companies that are in the private sector do not have the luxury of not caring. Companies that make their living keeping people happy are forced to provide at least decent customer service, so you would think. Unfortunately for the owners and executives of these businesses, the employees do not always share your same belief in quality custom service.

So here are 7 ways companies can prevent losing clients due to poor customer service.

1. Listen – No I do not mean listen to the biggest customers, or simply looking at comment card feedback. What I mean is go out and contact customers, get to know them. When was the last time a general manger called you after you visited your local restaurant? When was the last time you got an email from the CEO of the software program your company uses every day? How about the last time you were invited to sit in on a conference call amongst company executives, so that you could voice your opinion? My guess is never had any of those experiences. However, just because it has never happened, does not mean it cannot happen. As the owner of the company give your customers this chance, and differentiate yourself from the crowd. Only a small percentage of people complain, most just take their money/business to your competition. Show your customers you value their opinion by giving them opportunities to voice it!
2. Employees are people to… Employees often feel under valued for their opinion and contribution. If you treat your employees as expendable, how can you expect them to treat your customers any different. Give your employees the power to make decisions that are right for the company, rather than forcing them to follow the same robotic motions.
3. Online Surveys have become very popular over the last few years, as a customer I often get an email after I used someones service. The issue with surveys is incentive, most people are not going to take time to complete these surveys without proper incentive. How about giving them 25% off their next meal if they complete the survey. You get feedback, and they have to come back to cash it in. Could you enter them in a drawing or sweepstakes for an awesome prize? Motivation is a strong factor in determining the type of feedback you receive. How about $100 for any idea that is implemented into the organization, and send it to both employees and customers.
4. Handling Feedback, when you get a negative comment card, email, letter, or verbal comment, it can make or break your relationship with this client. What is your companies policy for handling each of those situations? What if an employee receives the complaint, what are they to do with it? Having procedures in place for all levels of your company, allow employees to feel empowered towards the overall success of the company. An often over looked area is allowing employees to resolve issues when they are not working. For example, the other day I was complaining to a friend who happened to work at a sporting goods store about the quality of the shoes I received. The shoes were 6 months old, but I had hardly worn them, now the sole was coming off. The employee asked me for the shoes, so they he could return them for me and get me a new pair of shoes. Now certainly this person was a friend to me, but that does not mean the store was my friend. So the policy was already in place for the employee to handle the issue, without a box, a receipt or any other proof that I bought the shoes from them. Regardless of the situation, the companies policy was to take back the shoes and fix the issue. How would your employees handle a similar situation with your products?



5. Acknowledge your errors publicly – BP and their Oil Spill (April 2010) should be a lesson to all businesses on how not to handle a PR nightmare. Instead of 100% transparency on the issues, they needed to be forced by government involvement before releasing information that could help resolve the issue. Only time will tell how BP comes out of this mess, but I can tell you my opinion has gone 180 degrees, from the BP I had grown to respect before April 2010. My Mom has always told me that, “Everyone makes mistakes…” which is certainly true. The next statement she makes is the killer, “It is what you do afterwords that shows who you are as a person (company).”
6. Responsiveness and Execution – There is little to say about this one, so instead I will give another example. I recently had a bad experience getting my oil changed at Jiffy Lube. I entered a complaint online, and within hours I had a personal email from the store manager. He offered to refund my money for the service, and to give me credit towards my next service. Score one point for Jiffy Lube. Not even 24 hours later, I got a phone call from the customer service department, following up on my complaint to see if there was anything else they could do. Score another point for Jiffy Lube. They took a customer complaint, and instead of an angry customer, within 24 hours they had resolved the issue, made me into a satisfied customer and I would have continued to use them. Until, one week went by, and then another, and I heard or received nothing. I did not get an email or a phone call, or what I really expected was a letter in the mail with my credit and refund. None of the above occurred, so I emailed the store owner, who again responded letting me know he was still processing the credit, and I should have it by the end of the week. Another week goes by and nothing. At this point I remove all points from Jiffy Lube, they have now taken a bad situation and made it worse. Execution and delivering on what you promise can control how a situation ends. Sorry Jiffy Lube, you just lost another customer, due to poor execution.
7. Understand that you cannot make everyone happy.
   Certainly the first six points are all about customer retention and this one is as well, except it comes at it differently. Back to quotes from my mom, “you cannot always make everyone happy.” In customer service we would like to believe we can make everyone happy, but that is not always the case. Very often we will find ourselves in situations where, making everyone happy is not always possible. So in cases like that, focus on your Raving Fans, make the customers that will voice their pleasure happy. Understand that you will take your lumps with the unhappy clients, but all in all, your Raving Fans will always watch out for you. BTW: If you have not yet read the book “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard it is a MUST read for anyone in the customer service industry.

Understanding what your clients need is usually as simple as putting yourself in their shoes. However, just because you think you know what your clients need, does not always mean you do. Take a chance, and reach out to your customers. Distinguish your company as a true leader in your industry, and reach out to your most valued assets, your employees.