My goodness – it never ceases to amaze me how real customer service is so rare these days. Have we forgotten who actually pays the bill for products we’ve bought or services we’ve purchased?
We’ve all probably experienced bad customer service and maybe even terrible customer service at some point in time. But why does it take losing customers and/or a drop in revenue before something gets done about horrible customer service.
I’m fascinated and admire business owners and most CEOs because they are ALL about customer service. They “get it” in a big way…..that is, they understand that it is their customers who pay the bills and allow them to stay in business, dare I say even profit. Unfortunately, however, we experience too often the situation where employees who don’t have a financial stake in the success of an organization simply DON’T GET IT! I find it almost embarrassing to think that although they are human beings with a brain, they rarely seem to use it. They can read a script, and they can follow along with the documentation that has been provided to assist them in answering a call, but many:
• Lack sensitivity to the customer’s situation
• Do little to help the customer feel that they even “care”
• Fail to recognize an opportunity to turn around a problem situation into one of potential upsale, and more importantly customer loyalty
• Rectify the situation to the customer’s delight, let alone satisfaction
Now I’m not saying that all customer service agents are not any good. However, as one friend who is in the service business puts it: “If most everyone wasn’t just average, then I wouldn’t stand out”. He is correct and he does stand out. I find that rather sad :o(
I’m all about giving people second chances as we’ve all been in situations where we’ve done less than what we know we should’ve or could’ve done to make for a great customer service experience. Whoever we are, whether business owners, CEOs or employees who get a paycheck and maybe even benefits, we can’t forget who pays the bill. Simply put – customers pay the bills, and they deserve so much better than what they’re typically getting in the way of customer service.
