Bad customer service – almost everyone has a nightmare experience to share when dealing with a company that could not solve their problem.
The situation can be bad enough to make you think that some companies aim to demoralise their customers and make them feel unworthy. Here are five (unfortunately familiar) conversations that a company should never have with their customers.
- Keeping the customer waiting
Customer: Hello, I have a problem with your product. Can you help describe how to use this particular feature?
Company: Hang on a moment – I’ll find someone who can help you.
(Customer listens to elevator music for three minutes before being accidentally disconnected or talking to someone who cannot solve the problem).
All customer service staff need to be briefed on how to solve common problems. This information should be clearly documented and made accessible to staff. For more complicated problems, the company must identify an expert within the organisation, and set up a system that allows customers’ queries to be routed quickly to this expert with minimal fuss. Putting your customer on hold for lengthy periods makes them annoyed. In today’s technologically advanced environment, this should not happen. There are so many options available, such as using live chat, email, social messaging or making the information available on the company website for customers who prefer self-service.
- Refusing to be proactive
Customer: I went to your retail outlet/ online store, and cannot find any more of this product. Can you let me know when you will be restocking it?
Company: I don’t have that information. Please try again tomorrow.
Customer: Couldn’t you call me back when it is available?
Company: No, I’m afraid we can’t do that.
Such a conversation is always frustrating – even more so when the company has made a mistake (for example, late delivery of a product). The problem frequently arises if the telephone system can only handle incoming calls. Companies should put in place the right systems that enable employees to capture customers’ contacts and contextual information, thus making it easy to follow up via a call, email, SMS, or even social messaging.
- Passing the buck
Customer: I called last week to check on the progress of this problem. The agent I spoke to said there would be an answer by today. What’s the update, please?
Company: I’m sorry, I can’t find anything about this in the system. The previous agent must have keyed it in wrongly or the system must have crashed. Sorry, I can’t help you.
Information does not magically disappear. Nor does a customer’s problem. It does not matter whether this was another agent’s fault or the system’s fault. The company needs to take responsibility immediately. The best solution would be to apologise and inform the customer that there appears to be a glitch in the system. Ask for the necessary information again, and then go find out the update. More importantly, the company must revert to the customer, as quickly as possible – even if it is just to say more time is required to solve the problem.
- Forcing the customer to repeat himself
Company: Please give me your full name, identity card number and account number.
Customer: But I’ve just given all that information to your colleague.
Company: I’m sorry, I need it again.
This scenario often happens when a customer is passed from one agent to another. It is a waste of time and will get anyone irritated. With today’s technology, this can be easily solved with a customer centric system that captures the customer information and their interaction history, making it accessible by any customer service agent. As customers are transferred to another agent, so is all the necessary information.
- Pretending to ask for feedback
Company: I hope I have been of assistance!
Customer: Well…. er… I guess so… (sigh)
When customers receive bad customer service and feel the company just doesn’t care, they often tell their friends or share it on social media. Companies can no longer wait for bad customer experiences to escalate. Companies need feedback to improve their service. One good way to is to ask a simple question after the interaction. For example, “Were you satisfied with our service” or “Would you recommend our company to other people?” When sent immediately after each interaction, the customer can take a few seconds to reply positively or negatively. If they wish to add a brief comment about what they liked or did not like, they can include a few extra words. It is quick, easy and does not require a lot time.
* Shun Chen is the GM of chat at Zendesk, a leading cloud-based customer service platform that brings organisations and their customers closer together.
