Customer Service Nightmares Part 2

Looking for the previous chapter in this series? Customer Service Nightmares Part 1.

I avoid naming specific businesses in these articles because my intention isn’t to focus on them specifically but where they went wrong and how they could improve their services.

I loathe deceptive business practices…

Maybe it’s because I work in the customer relationship management industry. Maybe it’s just because too many companies are ruthless and dishonest in their business practices … odds are though if I hear a story like this one, I will avoid your company at all costs.

Managing your company’s reputation is critical. A handful of negative experiences can go a long way toward hurting your company in a serious way. Whether these behaviors are intentional, your customers have the ability to strike back and you have a lot to lose.

See, social media and networking is increasingly prevalent. It’s easier to share stories and look up reviews for businesses and when a particularly scathing one pops up, most people will look for a better option.

There are also several huge sites popping up that share these experiences and have very high authority and page rank, meaning they will rank highly in search results, potentially showing up before your website does. Ouch.

Today’s customer service nightmare…

I sat down with a friend of mine this afternoon for a cup of coffee and got to hear about his experience with a company that provided virtual office services. The reason he had chosen to do business with them is that they had been recommended by somebody else. Unfortunately, they completely dropped the ball and are now getting negative references.

Think about that. The reason they got the account in the first place was because of a positive word of mouth recommendation. Things went downhill from there, fast.

See, he was up front with them about exactly what he needed to do. However, once they got his agreement to do business with them they decided to change the agreement, requiring additional services (and fees) to accommodate his needs. They failed to inform him initially of these additional requirements.

In other words, they changed the agreement in a way that made it useless to him without paying them more. Doesn’t that sound a bit like blackmail?

He responded to them at 4:30 PM by email, partly out of curiosity how they’d handle it. Turns out that rather than make it a priority to salvage the customer relationship they ignored the problem it until the close of their business day.

I’m a little bit confused at this point… Instead of attempting to solve an issue they decided to ignore it and potentially lose dozens of customers when the negative experience goes viral? It gets better … the person involved was their Director of Sales.

For most business owners that shouldn’t even be an option.

What could have been done differently?

1. Make the effort to manage your customers to ensure that you’re identifying and responding to their needs instead of just trying to close sales as quickly as possible. If you can’t provide a customer with adequate service then recommend them to someone who can.

(Read as, “please for the love of anything, invest in a CRM system that lets you organize notes about your accounts to properly manage your customers so that you stop making stupid, unnecessary mistakes.”)

2. Be up front about any costs and requirements to meet their needs. If you will require additional services to meet their needs then be up front about it before locking them into an agreement. Sure, you might lose the deal but most likely you won’t and the customer will appreciate your integrity.

Give the customer a chance to walk away. If you can’t satisfactorily provide them with the service they need, why waste their time and yours in what will be a strained relationship from the start? Don’t try to lock your customer in. That’s lazy and bad business. If you provide a quality product and acceptable service they won’t want to leave.

3. When a problem occurs then make it a priority. If you have 30 minutes left before closing shop for the day then at least respond to the customer, letting them know that you got their message, that you are working on a resolution and will contact them first thing in the morning.

Good customer service really isn’t that difficult, so why the dearth of it?

What about you?

What are your horror stories, or what is your business doing to ensure that you provide your customers with a positive experience?