Is the customer always right? Not in my eyes.
Does customer service as a whole need to improve? You bet it does.
Do we as customers need to take some of the onus? Indeed we do.
I stood in line at a large department store the other day. The lady at the front of the line was berating the employee in training for being slow. She was also going off about waiting in line.
The sheer fact that the store was training new employees tells me that that are trying to do something about the wait times. Do you think maybe we should exercise a little patience while the trainee learns their job? I do.
There will always be growing pains in business. Causing unnecessary stress to this trainee may end up in her quitting. Where does this leave us? In a perpetual cycle of training.
As a disclaimer i know both the employee and the employer very well. I know that behind the scenes they are trying their best to do what’s right for the customer while maintaining the strict guidelines corporate headquarters has laid out. The problem is, there is ample training for management and very little customer service training for the front line employees. These employees are the face of the company, they represent you on the most consistent basis. Nobody sees a manager until there is an issue. Most times the issue gets escalated as the customer is forced to wait for a manager to deal with the issue. Perhaps if we spend a little more time training our front line employees, many of the issues can be dealt with quicker and more efficiently. Empower our front line employees to make decisions. Train them. Customer service is not the department in the corner, it’s every employee you have.
I watched a manager bend over backwards to meet an irate customer’s absolutely insane demands. The customer was still unhappy, it wasn’t enough. These types of customers will never be satisfied. Your store will go broke trying to make them happy.
Is it ok to fire a customer? You bet it is. There will be customers that cost you money. Find a way to learn from them and then part ways.
We all like to complain about road construction. Sure it’s a pain in the arse for a while. Yes it always ends up longer than anticipated but in the end, it’s worth it. We know this. Yet we still feel the need to complain about it. Do we yell at the guy driving the steamroller? No. Do we yell at the guy holding the sign? No. But we never hesitate to yell at the lady cashing us out at the grocery store. You know the one, she’s in her mid 30s. Working for minimum wage to support her family while her husband is laid off. She’s trying to afford new clothes so her kids can stay warm this winter. Her mother just lost her battle with cancer. She hates her job but she goes to work every day, bagging your groceries, putting up with your crankiness, so you can yell at her for things she can’t control. I’ve been there. On both sides.
Think about this. That woman. She’s somebody’s mother, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister, somebody’s friend, somebody battling her own issues, somebody trying.
Before you rant and rave like a lunatic, think about this. Have we driven customer service through the floor with our unattainable expectations? I don’t think so.
Have we set the standard of acceptable customer service so low that our expectations are too easily met? I think so.
Do the customers need to share in the responsibility and work with the businesses to find solutions? I think that’s the only way.
Is our lousy customer service proportionate to our lack of courtesy as customers? I think they are related.
More businesses need to heed the advice of their customers, they also need to heed the advice of their front line employees. Management is often the ones who make the rules, they are also the ones who interact with the customers least. This is a very easily remedied situation. Knowledge.
Many businesses send out surveys and customer feedback forms. The issue is that they publish all the 5 star reviews and throw everything else out. Nobody wants to admit they have a problem so they ignore it. Eventually it goes away. Unfortunately, it takes your customers and possibly your whole business with it.
A few unhappy customers will voice their concerns loudly, you can learn from these. Fewer will voice them reasonably, these are your best opportunity for improvement. The truth is, most unhappy customers slip away silently and without warning. The damage is done before it is noticed. There is no chance to learn from them. This is exactly the reason customer service needs to be proactive and not reactive. Being reactive is often not an option.
Let’s face it. Without customers there are no business, treat your customers as such. Stop searching for the magic customer service bullet. Let’s get back to basics. You can’t build a skyscraper on a weak foundation and you can’t build a strong business on a base of lousy customer service.
I don’t care if you work in customer service, as a cashier, a high level executive, or if you’re the customer. Let’s extend a little courtesy and take a little responsibility. If we all do our part, it cant help but get better.
Love the image! I agree that customer service is a two-way street. Communication from the service – compassion from the customer. As a customer, we always have the option to walk away. The image makes me laugh – in a restaurant for breakfast and it was packed. Saw only one server – she sat us and immediately told us she was on her own (the other server had the audacity to have her baby that morning). We waited a long time … but we knew why, weren’t in a hurry, and had compassion for our server.
But not all customers have compassion or respect – so those that lack may have to get the axe. Thanks for a great post, Chris.
Thanks for the great comment. Compassion, respect, understanding, patience, these are more than just good business qualities. They are human qualities. If we get past the business, customer relationship, we realize that we are all just people. We need to treat each other as such.
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Great Post!
Having worked in customer service, I know that there are some customer whom you will never please. In those situations all you can do is be honest and provide alternatives and solutions. Where a solution is not available then honesty prevails. Promising customers something that is not possible or giving a false expection is one sure way to upset and lose them.
It has to be a combined effort for everyone to win.
I think I could write a book in response to this, but will attempt to be brief.
I get what you are saying, and having worked in customer service for over 15 years plus health-care before that, I am aware that some customers are almost impossible. Although in my career of providing customer service to 1,000s of people – only 2 stumped me. Most I have been able to turn around and create an advocate. How? Simple – honesty first as you mentioned and others.
Then – Apologize. Say – You are Correct. Ask – What would you like me to do?
I have many other examples, of how teams that I have been part of or managed turned the impossible customer into an advocate. There have been a rare few that could NOT be made happy and were dead wrong, and I therefore discussed ending our relationship by being direct and honest. There is a limit to how far you can go, and then you have to walk away and focus on the majority of your customers.
Having been in healthcare previously, possibly prepared me for customer service with a different attitude than others. When people are ill, they are often grumpy – you get used to that and think you understand. Most only need to vent and be responded to in a way that they know they have been heard.
” Example – I was a Medical Lab Tech, and one duty was to take blood from patients. I was assigned to the chemo clinic one morning, and one patient was extremely difficult to obtain blood from, due to her illness. She screamed at me that I was being mean to her. I responded with “I understand this is difficult for you”. She shot back ” You do NOT understand. You Do NOT have cancer!”. I stopped as if slapped – as I got what she was saying. I responded, quietly and with caring ” You are correct. It is true I cannot understand what you are going through. I am sorry.” She took a deep breath, and responded “Thank you. Now let’s try again, as I realize this has to be done.” I was successful this last time, and we smiled at each other quietly. >> This is what I always remember when I meet a difficult customer > I cannot always understand their situation, or what they are going through. Saying things such as – You are Correct! I am Sorry! What can I do? go a long way to turn the customer around and empowers them.
Lastly – we do need to train the customers occasionally, in reasons for issues. Often explanations go a long way. In the case of longer than usual wait times – being told up front allows customer to make a decision to either wait or go elsewhere. And we need to make changes according to customers feedback. Surveys are often not useful, as we do tend to not ask the correct questions, and if people answer they just check off Satisfied. All we know is that people did the minimum, not what we are doing wrong or exactly how we could improve. Ask – one question only >
Describe the most memorable thing about your visit with us today. ( or personalized for business)
– answer could be positive or negative, and often will be negative.
Thanks for a though provoking post!
Now I have to play Devil’s advocate and ask. Where is the plug for your blog? You have so much to contribute and I’m positive you could help many people by sharing your keen insights of customer service.i just rant, you have knowledge.