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How do you address damaging customer service failures?
The Customer Experience Impact 2010 Report concluded that 82% of customers abandon a brand after they receive poor customer service. That statistic is staggering! How do you address damaging customer service, and retain customers after a service failure?
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3 Answers
Hi Jill,
When I ran my IT business I had four golden rules that I applied whenever there was a customer service failure;
1) Own up to it.
2) Apologise for it.
3) Make things right for the customer.
4) Put steps in place to minimise the chances of it recurring.
I'll expand on each of the points above a little.
(Owning up to it). This one is pretty simple really. If you know that the issue has been with your systems and / or processes then it should be a case of making contact with the customer asap and owning up to it. Far too often I have been involved with organisations that are so terrified of admitting that they have had a failure that they end up losing customers who would otherwise be retained if they (the organisation providing the service) just owned up to it.
(Apologise for it). By this I mean a GENUINE apology. Don;t you just hate it when you call to complain about something and the person on the other end of the phone says something like "We're sorry you feel that way" or "We apologise for any inconvenience caused" these responses do nothing to make irate customers feel any better at all.
(Make things right for the customer). This is quite straightforward and often means dipping into your pocket in some manner. It may involve offering them a discount on something for their trouble or sending them a free gift. Either way, when a customer rings to complain you should try to reverse the initial feeling that we often have which is to go on the defensive. If a customer takes the time and trouble to complain about something rather than just going to one of your competitors they are actually doing you a favour by highlighting an area of your delivery that does not meet customer expectations - a gift as it were. If you consider the cost of engaging a professional to highlight issues in your service delivery the cost could quickly run into many thousands of dollars so by offering them a free gift or a discount you're actually way ahead financially!
(Don't let it happen again). After resolving the immediate customer issue examine what went wrong and put some processes into place to ensure that it does not continue to occur.
Just my immediate thoughts Jill - hopefully my answer has been of some benefit,
Andy.
Hello Mr. Andy Salmon,
it is Waqas Adnan withyou from Dubai, UAE i just see your suggestions and i am very glad to know about your views. These are realy usefull points to make a customer feel good.
Thanks for sharing your views
Thank You very much
Speaking from a Call Center perspective – it’s all about the quality of the ‘Humanware’ you deploy in your Contact Center to begin with.
When reaching out to a Contact Center – customers want a 24x7 clear connection to a quickly answered call. Customers want access to a well thought-out IVR in order to source their own answers – or be able to easily reach a Live Operator by simply pressing ‘0’.
If they have to hold in a queue for the next available operator – customers want to be advised of their estimated wait time – and they want the option of leaving their telephone number for a call back instead of having to hold on the line.
And once they’re connected with a Customer Service Representative (CSR) – customers want to speak with a CSR from their region - who is typically better able to serve and communicate with them. Customers want their questions/issues resolved by a CSR who acts professionally – is easily understood - who is not a ‘script reader’ - and who is empowered to make this a “one call & done” experience.
While most everyone can use a telephone - not everyone is cut out to work in a Call Center environment. Someone may have “The Right Stuff” to be a great Customer Service & Support CSR – it doesn’t necessarily follow that the same individual is also a good fit for the more demanding & sales-oriented requirements of Up-Sell/Cross-Sell/Customer Win-Back – let alone Inside Sales or TeleSales.
Hiring the wrong Agent to begin with is the Root Cause of most Call Center Performance Issues. It’s also a significant drain on your Budget & Bottom Line – on Customer Satisfaction - and on Customer Retention. Every failed hire represents wasted dollars down the drain. Not to mention the Lowered Productivity, Poor Morale & Higher Absences associated with a Poor Job Fit.
Typically there are 3 grades of Agents found in a Call Center: (Above Average), (Average), and (Below Average).
(Above Average) Agents seem to have “The Right Stuff” that pushes them to succeed & a natural compatibility with the duties of the position. They work hard - exceed expectations - do more than asked - achieve high-quality consistent results - can always be counted upon - need little direction & work extremely well with everyone.
(Average) Agents perform their duties adequately enough “to get by” - but no better. They are the partially competent. Generally they’re strong from a Skills standpoint but missing a key ingredient or two from a Job Fit standpoint.
(Below Average) Agents are the people who just don’t fit somehow. Sometimes they’re good people in the wrong jobs. They need extra coaching & supervision just to achieve average results. Often they cause unnecessary conflict. (Below Average) Agents have the Highest Levels of Absenteeism, Lowest Levels of Productivity & Sales, Poorest Performance & Customer Satisfaction Ratings, and generally have a Negative Impact on Team Morale. They represent the real problems in a Call Center workforce. While (Average) & (Below Average) Agents may seem fully qualified at the Interview Stage – they’re a Poor Job Fit – the cost of hiring them is enormous – with little value add to an organization.
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