The days of accepting poor service are slowly fading.
Oh, we still experience plenty of lousy service.
The difference is, we no longer stay silent about it.
- We have blogs for platforms
- Endorsements to make – or not
- Sharing of the good, the bad, the ugly
While we push back on some, we still accept the too big excuses of others.
Need some examples?
The Great and Powerful
Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz (the original) when the Wizard was revealed?
Smoke and shooting flames embraced the booming voice of the Wizard. Until little dog, Toto, pulled back the curtain.
Maybe we should pull back the curtain on the too big excuse.
Online news sites are too big to monitor comments
Tour some of the biggest news sites and you may discover some interesting comments.
- Obvious spam that your average filter catches
- Rude, profane language
- At a minimum, it’s annoying to readers
News sites are not the only guilty parties. The site owners may argue they receive too many comments for monitoring.
Balderdash.
- Invest in a decent filter
- Hire a competent person for monitoring
- Turn off comments if you don’t believe in the first two.
A business is too big to respond
The following is an actual response I received when I hit reply to an email (with identifiers removed).
Due to an overwhelming amount of incoming daily email, general requests and questions about XYZ, as well as the demands on my time to serve my clients, I am only able to respond personally to emails from my business partners and VIP clients.
So, in order for you to get the attention you deserve, please submit a request at my help desk so my VA team can assist you.
To be fair, this response was a few years ago. Hopefully, this business has seen the error of its ways.
1. Value your customer
The response delivers a message that you’re not as important as business partners and VIP clients (I wonder if the VIP clients got the same automated response).
2. Make response easy
There is nothing wrong with referring to a customer service unit or a virtual assistant (and another tip – not everyone is going to know what a VA is), but make the process as simple as possible.
This response had no link or contact information to the VA. You were instructed to go to the site to fill out a form.
You may think this is an extreme example; however, how many times have you received the No-reply email with no visible instruction on how to connect?
A business is too big to respond to technical questions
When you’re the size of a Google, Microsoft or Facebook, the number of questions must be astounding. I get that.
However, from the inane to the complex question, customers are still customers.
Being too big to respond is not an excuse.
One effective strategy I’ve observed is a business that partners with its expert users to provide support.
Sharing is one of the best thing about the social media world.
- Form strategic partnerships for support
- Tap into the sharing generation
- Provide oversight from a company representative.
No Excuses
Good customer service is not rocket science. Show that you care what customers think.
Even the great and powerful fall.
Do you have any other examples of the too big excuse that doesn’t cut it with you?
Share your thoughts in Comments.
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