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It is no longer enough to have a good product – delivering exceptional customer service is equally important. Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2021 found that 75 percent of people are willing to spend more money on a brand that provides a stellar experience.
Poor customer service can lead to customer dissatisfaction, loss of trust in the company, and negative word-of-mouth recommendations, which can ultimately impact the business’s reputation and bottom line.
Whether you’re running a small business or working in customer service, these tips will help you retain loyal customers.
In this blog post, we will take you through the common pitfalls of customer service and how to steer clear of them. Let’s dive in.
When a customer perceives that their needs or desires have not been met, this can be classified as bad customer service. Key indicators of poor customer service include lengthy wait times, automated systems that hinder communication with a live agent, and the need to repeat information multiple times.
Customers expect a certain level of service when they engage with a business. If the customer support provided falls short of their expectations, it can harm the company’s reputation. In today’s interconnected world, customers tend to express their grievances on social media, amplifying the negative effects of poor service. The bottom line is that businesses can’t afford to overlook these issues and should prioritize delivering exceptional customer service.
Good customer service, as Harvard Business Review’s seminal article explains, hinges on your ability to solve the customer’s problem.
If you can’t do that, no number of extra perks will make them happy.
That said, there are principles of customer service that transcend industries and businesses. While you’re solving the customer’s problems, you should exhibit the following attributes:
Conversely, some elements of poor customer service include:
Discover 11 examples of poor customer service and learn how to turn them around with effective solutions.
A significant cause of unpleasant customer experiences is when a business is willing to accept payment for a transaction but not willing to take responsibility when issues arise.
How to fix this:
The customer’s viewpoint should be at the core of every business transaction.
They should not have to worry about the internal workings of a company. When you sell something to a customer, it is your duty (at least from a moral standpoint) to take responsibility for their experience.
Implement systems to identify anomalies.
Instead of waiting for customers to report issues, leverage technology to identify irregularities proactively.
Train your team how to apologize.
Passing the blame onto someone else does not address the problem, and it leaves the customer feeling unsatisfied. Educate your team on the proper way to offer a sincere apology to demonstrate accountability and commitment to customer satisfaction.
Long response times are a primary reason for low customer satisfaction, and delays can escalate even the tiniest issue into a significant problem, as my dentist keeps reminding me.
How to fix this:
Set clear expectations: Companies should establish clear response time expectations and communicate them to their customers. This will help manage their expectations and avoid disappointment.
Automate response messages:
Implementing an automated response system can help customers feel heard and acknowledged even if a live agent is not available to respond immediately.
Invest in customer service technology:
Adopting a chatbot that can help manage customer inquiries and issues can significantly reduce response times and ensure prompt follow-up.
Monitor social media and online reviews:
Customers often turn to social media or online review platforms to express their complaints. Companies should monitor these channels regularly and respond promptly to any negative feedback or complaints.
Train employees:
Providing training to employees on effective communication and problem-solving techniques can help them handle customer inquiries and issues efficiently and reduce response times.
One of the most common customer service failures, particularly among larger corporations, is inflexibility in adhering strictly to policies even when they don’t apply or make sense in a given situation.
How to fix this:
Empower employees:
Providing employees with the flexibility to make decisions on the spot, within certain guidelines, can help them handle unique situations and provide personalized service.
Review policies:
Companies should review their policies regularly to ensure they align with their goals and values. This includes assessing policies that may be outdated, irrelevant, or hindering exceptional customer service.
Offer alternatives:
Providing customers with alternative solutions when policies are not flexible enough can demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction.
Listen to feedback:
Companies should encourage customer feedback on their policies and take constructive criticism seriously. This can help identify opportunities to improve and increase flexibility.
Set realistic expectations:
While it’s important to be flexible, companies should also set realistic expectations with customers. Providing clarity on policies and their limitations can help customers understand the boundaries of what is possible.
Customers can experience some of the worst experiences even before reaching out to the customer service team. Product designers and managers, in their quest to meet KPIs and growth targets, may resort to deceptive designs that trick customers into taking actions they wouldn’t have done voluntarily.
How to fix this:
Review product copy: Companies should review their product copy to ensure it accurately and clearly describes what customers can expect. The support team can be particularly helpful in identifying areas of potential confusion and should be involved in the review process. This can help prevent customers from feeling misled and reduce the need for customer service interventions.
Integrate core values into business decisions:
If a company claims to be customer-centric, it should evaluate its designs against that standard to ensure it’s true. Core values should guide business decisions and impact the design of products or services.
Interacting with a competent and caring customer service representative can be a positive experience. Unfortunately, in many cases, it feels more like chasing Ron Swanson’s swivel chair. Many companies make it challenging for customers to speak with a person, leading to frustration and negative experiences. In fact, services like GetHuman have emerged to help people find human assistance, highlighting the prevalence of this issue.
How to fix this:
Invest in customer service. If you value your customers and their queries, consider allocating some of your profits towards hiring customer service agents who can respond to their concerns promptly.
Build better self-service resources. Many customers prefer finding answers on their own, rather than having to call customer service. By creating detailed and easy-to-use self-service resources, you can improve the customer experience and reduce the need for customers to speak with an agent.
Improve your contact points. Make it easier for customers to find the best way to reach out to you for help. Provide clear instructions on how to get in touch with customer service and ensure that all contact points are functional and responsive.
Dealing with chatbots that are unhelpful or difficult to understand can be an aggravating experience for customers. In some cases, it can even be worse than not having a human representative available to help.
How to fix this:
Implement intelligent routing systems that use AI to direct customers to the most appropriate support agent based on their needs and previous interactions.
Use machine learning algorithms to analyze customer interactions and identify patterns or issues that can be addressed proactively by your support team.
Provide your support team with real-time insights into customer behavior and preferences, using AI-powered analytics tools to surface relevant information.
Use natural language processing (NLP) to improve the accuracy and efficiency of your support team’s responses, enabling them to quickly identify and address customer needs.
Implement chatbots or virtual assistants that can seamlessly escalate complex or technical issues to a human support agent, while handling simpler queries on their own.
7. Requiring phone calls
Requiring customers to make a phone call to cancel or modify their account, when everything else can be done online, is frustrating and can lead to a negative customer experience. This is the opposite of the earlier “hiding humans” category of poor service.
Respect your customers’ time and energy by providing convenience. If they have signed up for your service online, let them cancel or modify their account online as well.
Don’t force customers to make a phone call for simple actions like cancellation or modification, as it can be frustrating and time-consuming. Instead, provide easy and accessible online options.
Give customers the flexibility to cancel immediately, but also provide a window of time where an explanation or a better offer could persuade them to stay with your service.
8. Unprofessional communication
While customer service representatives are expected to handle difficult situations with patience and empathy, there are times when the tone of their communication can be unprofessional and disrespectful.
Ensure that your customer service staff is treated well and has the necessary support to deal with the challenges of the job.
Set clear boundaries and policies regarding abusive customer behavior and enforce them consistently.
Use quality assurance methods to identify any training or attitude issues among your customer service team and address them before they escalate.
9. Auto pilot listening
Customer service failures can also occur when employees fail to actively listen to customer requests and simply follow instructions without considering the bigger picture or the customer’s intent. This is a case of being “technically correct” without providing excellent service.
Encourage your team to engage in active listening, where they not only hear what the customer is saying but also try to understand their underlying needs and motivations.
Provide ongoing training to your team on how to ask open-ended questions that can help them gain a deeper understanding of the customer’s situation.
Empower your team to use their judgment and make decisions that align with the company’s values and goals.
Encourage your team to provide personalized solutions to customers, rather than relying on scripted responses or one-size-fits-all solutions.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, where your team is encouraged to learn from their mistakes and share best practices with each other.
10. Not following up context
Ignoring context is a common mistake in customer service. Responses that would typically be reasonable can be frustrating and unhelpful when the situation has changed.
Train customer service agents to actively listen to customers and adapt responses to the specific context of the situation.
Empower agents to make decisions and exceptions when appropriate, rather than relying on rigid policies.
Regularly review and update scripts and guidelines to ensure they remain relevant and useful.
11. Declining to de-escalate
Failing to defuse tense situations can exacerbate problems and lead to unhappy customers. It’s important to acknowledge mistakes and work to find a resolution that satisfies both parties.
Take a moment to pause before responding if you’re upset about a negative review or feedback.
Develop a plan ahead of time for handling negative reviews or comments, and refer to it during emotionally charged situations.
Small failures, big impact
Small service failures can drive away many otherwise happy customers, so pay attention to all the small signals indicating things are not quite right. It’s important to monitor customer satisfaction rates, response times, and social mentions to make small course corrections before they turn into major problems. Even though it’s satisfying to read about the failures of others, it doesn’t take a huge error to lose business. To ensure consistently high-quality service, consider getting an AI-powered chatbot. This will help set up your customer service team for success and keep your company’s reputation positive on the balance sheet rather than on social media’s trending page.
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