What Bad Service Does to Your Business
Recently, I traversed the web searching for a particular product and was told, by a pretty large retail chain’s search input, that they had that product available at one of their stores in my vicinity. And, not only did they have it in the store, they had at least five available on-site. Score!
Sounds good so far, right? Well, unfortunately everything goes downhill from here. Long story short, I went to that store’s location, and after searching high and low for the product, was told by their in-store customer service representatives (I use that term loosely) that the product was not available at their location. After informing them that their website stated that it was in stock in their store, they responded that, sometimes the site can be wrong.
Really? I was then told that I should check another store… Myself. No one offered to do it for me and no one offered to call another one of their many locations on my behalf.
Needless to say I walked out of that business, never to return. And, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that has experienced bad service such as this. Even worse, probably. But, the curious thing is, although businesses know what bad customer service can do to their bottom line, why do they still allow it to exist? Bad service is an efficient way to damage a company’s reputation. Blogging and social media make it very easy for a customer / client to quickly publicize their negative experience and those statements can grow like wildfire, making it quite difficult for a business to recover.
Communicate
Your customers want to be heard. Allow them the opportunity to do so with superb customer service representatives, online forums, email, phone, etc.
Address Needs
Everyone wants to feel that their needs are being addressed. It’s one thing to listen, it’s another to help solve the issue. If that retail store I mentioned earlier had taken that extra step to contact another store to help track down my product, my needs would have been met and I would have sung their praises.
Don’t Make Promises You can’t Keep
What’s worse than bad service? Making promises that you cannot or will not keep. Don’t tell your customers that all will be fine and dandy when you have no intention of solving their problems. To over promise and under deliver is a huge no-no.
Instill the Benefits of Good Service
Every employee needs to understand the consequences of bad service. If they don’t, they should not be representing your business. Customers / clients are the reason your business exist and should be treated as such. Excellent service is also shouted from the tree tops. Positive word of mouth can elevate your business just as quickly as negative experiences can bring it down.