I suppose it gets to the point when you have to say something, so I am. We see it over and over again and just shake our heads. Except I am not just writing about what happened but what to actually do so you know how to resolve it in future if it happens to you as a business owner.
I had a bad customer service experience recently that started when I was preparing for a presentation and needed 20 client information folders. I’d been receiving promotional material from an online printing company for a while but hadn’t ordered anything from them. I saw they were having a sale and decided to give them a try.Customizing and placing my order went smoothly and only took a few minutes to complete.
My order was estimated to arrive in 10-14 business days - a little long then for my taste, but would still get the folders to me just in time for the presentation.About a week and a half later my order arrived... or so I thought. The box I received contained exactly 10 folders-10 short from the 20 I ordered. I immediately emailed the company’s customer service department about the error. My email went something like this:
Dear Customer Service,
I ordered 20 information folders, but I just received my order and it only contains 10 folders. Can you help?
Thanks, Steve
This was the response I received:
Dear Steve,
Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for the mistake with your order. We recently had some trouble with our printing vendor and people haven’t been receiving their complete orders. We will send out the rest of your order right away. You should receive it in 10-14 business days.
Thank you,
Customer Service
There is so much wrong with this response. Here are the main ways in which the company failed:
Passing the buck
Instead of taking responsibility for their mistake, the company made a lame attempt to put the blame on a vendor. Even if something out of your control causes an issue for your customers, it’s still your company’s responsibility. Customers don’t care what goes on behind the scenes. When you promise a product or service, you are expected to deliver it; if you can’t, you must take full responsibility.
Not expediting a resolution
After waiting over a week for my order to be delivered initially, this company expected me to wait another 10-14 days for my items to be sent. That is not only inconvenient, it is unacceptable. If your company makes an error that delays delivering a product or service to a customer, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. In this case, they should’ve offered to overnight or 2-day ship my corrected order — at the very least.
Waiting for the customer to alert you of a problem
You will notice in my example this company said they had been “having problems with their vendor and people weren’t getting their complete orders.” They already knew there was a problem, yet rather than be proactive, their strategy was to wait until a customer contacted them about an order mistake. Instead of taking a passive approach, take the initiative to get ahead of customer service issues. Your customers are more likely to be understanding and will appreciate that you’re looking out for their satisfaction.
Not taking extra special care of first-time customers
When a customer makes their first purchase with you, they are testing you out - just as I was with the printing retailer. When you have a bad experience right out of the gate, you can almost guarantee you’ve lost that customer for good. Only an “above and beyond” customer service experience gives you a fighting chance of getting them to return.
It’s the age of the customer - start acting like it. If your customer service teams are committing any of these “sins,” it may be time to make the shift to a more customer-centric culture. Don’t wait for dissatisfied customers to call before you make a change. Make a goal now to start seeing things the way your customers see them.
In today’s age of the customer, executives don't decide how customer-centric their companies are - customers do. Customer service today should be pain-free, proactive, and deeply personalized. It’s essential to meet your customers across all channels (e.g., social media, mobile, etc.) and let them decide how they want to engage with your brand. Embracing new customer service technologies and processes can help you transition to a customer-centric culture and provide a better Customer Experience. After all, it’s all in Keeping Life Current.
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