Years ago, I worked on a customer service team for a well-known telecommunications company in the UK. Despite its size, one thing that was always drummed into us was that no matter what the problem, have empathy with the customer and acknowledge that any verbal attacks are aimed at the company, not us.
It did the trick.
We knew that our company wasn’t perfect – which one is? We also knew that some of our company’s practices wouldn’t go over well with our customers, and that would lead to unhappy customers calling in to complain.
Though they sometimes got vociferous in their argument, we would always listen, offer empathy and look for a way that we could both work together to resolve the issue.
Again, it worked. At the end of the call, the customer would apologize and say they were really sorry that they came over as argumentative – they were just frustrated and felt as if they had no-one to talk to about it. All they wanted was for someone to listen and show that their problems were being heard. Even if nothing could be done about them, just knowing someone cared made a huge difference.
So when did we stop listening?
I come across businesses every day that seem to have forgotten what customer service is. Public transport that’s always late with no apology or explanation; banks raising charges on credit cards with little warning and no alternatives; restaurants changing menus without any kind of customer survey (and often losing the best food in the process).
Even social media isn’t immune to this malaise – remember the thousands of unhappy Facebook users when the company changed its front-end without asking users what they thought first? Even worse, when users complained, Facebook pretty much stuck its head in the sand and said, “Take it or leave it.”
What amazes me more about this apathy toward customers is that businesses can’t afford to have this attitude. The next 12-18 months are going to see some painful times ahead – businesses will fold, communities will suffer and families will struggle to keep their heads above water.
New business will be almost impossible to come across with any great success, which is why it’s more important than ever to look after your existing customers. Jason Tryfon, President of Vital Insight Group, hit the nail on the head in a recent video blog about how important it is to retain existing customers over new marketing.
Business is tough enough as it is. We all want to attract new clients and build our brand, but we can’t afford to do so at the expense of our existing customers. They’re the soul of any company and the ones that can offer you the best kind of new client attraction – word-of-mouth advertising.
Something for businesses to keep in mind the next time they review their customer service policy.
photo credit: libraryman
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Twitter: jasontryfon
Danny this is a fantastic entry! Many organizations today have zero interest of hearing the voice of the customer and claim they are cust sat centric but the reality is they aren’t, as consumers we aren’t dumb…we know this and accept it! It amazes me daily how we have to coach some of today’s most recognized brands on how to deal with and resolve customer expressions of defection in real time. We need to take a stand as consumers and continue to demand excellent service and have our voices heard when we spend our hard earned dollars in today’s economic climate.
Thank you greatly and continue to put out fantastic content!
Jason Tryfon
uhaveavoice.com
twitter me up! twitter.com/jasontryfon
Thanks Jason, appreciate the kind endorsement.
It just never fails to amaze me the simple basics that companies forget. As you say, some of the worst offenders are the more recognized brands – are they thinking they’re so big they don’t need to worry about customer service any more?
Haven’t they heard the old adage, “The bigger you are, the harder you fall”? Seems some companies could be in for a very rude awakening soon.
Maybe it’s just that there have always been those who don’t get Customer Service and they have been successful in a cultural void of manners and general common courtesy.
Reading this I was instantly taken back to staffing and training a large help desk I was managing for a startup – when I was conducting a training class of about a dozen prior to the go-live, I asked them how they would approach handling an irate and shouting caller. The very first one out of the gate looked me dead in the eye and said “I’d hang up on them.” I replied that doing so was rather likely to have the person call back in even more irate and subjecting one of her coworkers to even more abuse and her response was “well that’s what we were taught by my supervisor at my last job – it always worked – hang up on them until they give up or are polite.”
I won’t disclose the company, but it was a telecom regulated one and it didn’t surprise me terribly much to learn where she had worked previously as I’d experienced their version of ‘customer disservice’ myself.
Explaining to her (and in doing the rest of my class) that the 2 key techniques were to a) acknowledge and repeat the customers concerns so that they knew they were being heard and b) speaking in a lower/quieter voice (try it some time, people reflect it back on the phone) until the customer had gotten to the point where s/he was willing to be an ally in helping you to resolve their problem was met with continued disbelief.
Yes, actually, I did fire her immediately the first time that I witnessed her hanging up on someone who wasn’t happy.
That said – how can we possibly expect that a company values customer service when it’s seen 1) as an entry level job, 2) as a low-paying job, and 3) as a cost center rather than a profit center?
Lucretia Pruitt´s last blog post..Even a Chatterbox like Me Listens…
Ironically enough, I found telecomm companies to be amongst the worst offenders when I worked in the UK. Bizarre that companies that are selling the tools of communication aren’t actually knowledgeable about communication itself…
And I agree – the industry needs to be recognized as more than just an entry-level job ideal for students or returning moms. It’s the first face of any company – treat it like one.
Thanks as always, Lucretia, great points.
One of the things that these companies often forget is that it is far cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to find a new one. As you mention Danny, this is more pertinant now than it has been for a long time. With the conversational tools available to the organisation at present, it is absolutely inexcusable that firms continue to keep the customer at arm’s length, effectively excluding them from issues which affect them.
Picking up on Jason’s point too, absolutely. Never has there been a time when the customer’s opinion was so easily conveyable. Customers must use this to their advantage, ensuring that organisations are unable to provide goods and services that fail to meet the high standards we demand of them. It is up to us to ensure that their ‘best practices’ become even better.
TLR
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