I’m sad to say that, as a consumer, I have become completely accustomed to being treated poorly by service/support representatives from companies. Whether I’m in a store face to face just asking someone for directions to a department, or if I’m calling with a question, it’s overwhelmingly common for “customer service” to treat people like they are anything except for valued.
As much as I could probably rant about this issue for days, the real point is – as a business owner, director, marketer, etc., you should know this one stone-cold fact:
Bad customer service can undo all of your hard work in a fraction of the time it takes you to build a campaign, design a video, or even add one measly little MQL to the pipeline.
Good news travels, but bad experiences with your company will spread exponentially faster and it should absolutely be important to you to ensure that the people helping your customers are kind, considerate, and committed to providing a positive experience.
There have been times when a company messed up an order for me (sent me the wrong part, or a different product altogether) and after the situation was resolved, I walked away without a negative thing to say about them. Here’s an example.
My Faith is Restored After Just 1 Customer Service Call
I was beaming with excitement when the gigantic box housing my brand spankin’ new elliptical was sitting on my front doorstep. Being an Amazon Prime member, I knew that it would arrive quickly and in good condition.
My fiancé and I got to work putting it together piece by piece. The instructions were super easy to follow, and before we knew it we were more than halfway finished. Then we hit an unexpected roadblock.
They sent us the wrong pedal for the right side of the machine…
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
My heart sank dreading the idea of calling into the support number. All I could envision is a disgruntled employee, reluctantly answering the phone, and proceeding to make me feel like I am the one who did something wrong. But nonetheless, I picked up the phone.
Contrary to my anticipation, the representative on the other line, Chris from Paradigm Fitness, was nothing but pleasant, and knowledgeable. He guided me through the process, apologized, and get this…
He followed up to make sure we were good to go.
I received my new part in two short days, and I was able to start working out on the elliptical the same night that the part arrived.
So. What Did We Learn?
The moral of the story is that no one can assume that all companies are spot on all day every day. In fact, we should expect that there will be hiccups, and mistakes from time to time. However, our customers do want us to treat them like paying customers because… well… they are.
But seriously, by ensuring that your customers are being treated well (and especially when they are frustrated/experiencing a challenge) with your products, the company will leave clients feeling valued and appreciated. That’s more than just good karma, it will spiral in to a good reputation for your company, which then translates to TRUST.
I don’t know about you, but I only give repeat business to companies that I trust.
So, make sure that your customer service team understands that they are an imperative piece of the revenue cycle. Treat your customer service team well, so that they can transcend those positive vibes to your customers.
Have you had a surprising experience with a customer service team?
Or if you’re in client relations, do you have a story of a time that you went above and beyond just to help a customer out?
Tell me about your Customer Service (CS) experience in the form below.
nichelle brooke 