When this posts I should have completed my 10th, 60-mile, 3-Day Walk for the Cure.
My teammates and I have a spa day planned for this post date. Ah, bliss.
Bliss is also my great writer friends who are as much of a tradition as my 3-Day Walks.
They always come through with great guest posts in my absence.
Pal, Lori Widmer, and I often share points of view. And nothing frosts our freelancing digits more than bad customer service.
Lori’s guest post shares a few bad customer service sins. The devil is in the details.
Give Lori some Comment love.
4 Sins of Bad Customer Communication
By Lori WidmerIf it happened once, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. However, this was the fourth call I made to our trash company, and, like every other time a female from this house called, they turned down my request.
What did I dare ask them to haul away that they were refusing?
A stack of cardboard.
That isn’t what really irked me, though it did get me going down that path. What really did it was what happened when my husband called – they said yes.
My husband called after each request from a female from our house was turned down.
- He repeated the same request
- And was successful – every time
On the last call, he got off the phone and laughed. “Sexist bastards.”
What an image to impart to your customers, huh?
While it’s unclear why the initial requests were denied, what is clear is that the company wasn’t being consistent. Either they can pick up the requested item or they can’t.
There was never any reason for two answers to the same question.
Plenty of businesses make similar communication mistakes.
Some mistakes are easily fixed. However, here are a few that could sink your business and earn you a reputation you’d rather not have:
1. Inconsistent Communication
If you can’t be consistent with customers, they’ll soon decide it’s too difficult to call or write frequently for answers.
Your company should speak with a unified message, not a garble of half-truths or contradictory responses.
- Know what you sell, what you don’t
- And how you can best please your customer
If it feels like decisions are being made arbitrarily, your customer will lose trust in your operations and may come to the same conclusions about your business as I did about my trash company.
True or not, it’s an impression that sticks.
2. Lack of Empathy
I like talking with my bank because they’re always pleasant, never blame me for anything, and fix the problem swiftly and with an apology for my inconvenience.
If they were the worst bank on the planet I might still be a customer because of that attitude. However, there are businesses that show no inclination to smile, understand the problem, or help beyond what would be the minimum of effort.
If your customer feels like you’re being put out by helping, they’ll move on to someone who doesn’t mind doing business with them.
3. No Response
Filling out those online forms to get help is annoying enough; waiting for an answer that never arrives is a deal-breaker for most customers, as is ~
- Not calling back within 24 hours
- Not answering emails
- Ignoring your customers’ needs
Make it easy to reach you.
Also, make sure you put customer communication at the top of your priority list.
4. Unreasonable Roadblocks
Some people seem to enjoy the control that their jobs bring.
When I applied for a marriage license, the clerk asked for my Social Security card. It still had my former married name listed, which didn’t match my birth certificate or my driver’s license.
Instead of understanding the issue and digging further, she said:
“You can’t have a license”
She walked away, complaining loudly that I had to first file for a legal name change, then change it with the Social Security office before she would even consider it.
Her coworker walked up and asked quietly, “What name is on your bank account?” I told her it was my maiden name, and showed her my checking account card.
I had the license within minutes. Meanwhile, her counterpart was still spouting off in a corner of the office.
In some cases, it could be that no really is the answer – the parts were manufactured elsewhere, the ingredients for your meal at a restaurant are pre-packaged, etc.
However, if your customers want a modification to a kitchen design or have some request that’s easily filled, why say no?
Often, customers can see right through the objection to the real reason it can’t be done – you’re unwilling to expend the extra energy or you’re more intent on being that brick wall of compliance, exceptions be damned.
Your reputation as a business where people want to spend money depends on how well you treat those people.
If you put people first, you avoid miscommunication that tarnishes your hard-earned reputation.
- How have businesses sinned against you?
- What was the impression left, and how did you respond?
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Lori Widmer is a veteran business writer and editor with over 15 years of pleasing companies and individual clients with targeted, consistent communication.
She blogs regularly at Words on the Page, and has a risk management blog, Risk Notes.
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I am participating in my 10th 60-mile, 3-Day Walk for the Cure in San Diego. While my feet are slapping the pavement, my writer pals deliver great guest posts. Please give them lots of Comment love.
I return back to the blog the week of November 26 – just in time for Thanksgiving.
Lori, I sympathize with the difficulty you encountered from the one employee when you were trying to get a marriage license.
While there are many high-quality people who work for government agencies, it seems like it’s much easier for a bad apple to keep a government job than a private-sector job.
Thanks, John. It felt as though the woman was a career employee used to follow things by the book. She didn’t look at me as a person with a not-so-unusual situation, but as chaos getting in the way of her world’s order. Ironic that she became chaotic in response. 😉
You earned a spa day (or two), Cathy! Enjoy it.
Another thing I’ve encountered a lot with poor customer service: Mixed messages. Whether it’s the cable/phone/internet company where one rep tells you one thing and the next rep says something completely different, or an insurance company that acknowledges an error and says it will be corrected by crediting your next premium with a specific amount, then having the full premium withdrawn instead, mixed messages create stress and distrust among customers and subscribers.
I hear you, Paula. I remember calling an insurance company every month for over six months because a covered expense wasn’t being paid. The doctor’s office had apparently put the wrong code on the bill. However, no one would accept the office’s resubmission, and I kept going round and round. Finally, I got a sympathetic person, who apologized, then in ten minutes had called the doctor’s office, with me still on the other line, and fixed the issue. She assured me I would never again have to deal with that bill, and she was right.
The difference: She listened and found a way to fix it.
Thanks, Paula. 🙂
Hope things are going well, Cathy! Can’t wait to hear how the walk was.
Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone, Lori. The Walk was fabulous. 🙂