Who Gives A Toss About Customer Service?
Published August 26th, 2008 in GeneralOne of the popular recommendations when it comes to use of digital channels is all about reaching out to your customer. By and large though I think that it’s a load of BS. Let’s face it most customer service complaints stem from guess what…poor customer service. A number of companies in the UK that outsourced their call centres have brought them back or at least moved them closer to home due to the perceived poor nature of call centres in countries like India. That said though, companies that outsource their customer support generally don’t tend to place a high value on what their customer thinks of them.
Conor Pope had a great feature in the Irish Times the other week about the difficulties customers sometimes face when trying to make contact with a company. In this day and age when the amount of consumer touchpoints is at its highest, it is pretty astounding when you can’t get through to a company.
So seriously who cares if a company has a Twitter account when they won’t answer their email? Customer service takes a lot of effort, get your basics right before looking for kudos for your ‘innovative’ use of new media channels.
The real opportunity for customer service online is spotting potential issues and reaching out before molehills turn into mountains. For this situation to arise though, customer service needs to be given the respect it deserves and reps given the proper training to engage customers. As a recent Guardian editorial points out ‘call-centre workers aren’t given the freedom, or the financial motivation, to be helpful.‘
Hats off to the owner of Subway on Nassau Street in Dublin who actually posted his mobile number on the wall for anyone that has a complaint - sign of confidence that everyone leaving the store is satisfied.
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Great post - I couldn’t agree with you more. Personally, I am not a fan of India call centres trying to sort out complex customer problems as I have had a number of bad experiences. I am surprised that HSBC still outsources its customer services team – my wife had to have a 2hr conversation to get a new card sent to her at our home in Harrogate. They insisted she travel to Wembley to pick it up which is about a four hour drive. They couldn’t get their head around why she wouldn’t drive almost 350 miles to pick up a card!
I know that customer service is an extremely onerous task but surely it’s one that is necessary if you want to maintain market share. I am constantly amazed at companies which have no USP/differentiator, apart from price and service, that continue to provide a truly Sh*te service. Several electricity, gas and water suppliers spring immediately to mind. Surely if your company isn’t any different the best way to differentiate it is to make sure you provide great customer service.
I think the tide will start to change though and we will see the companies with bad service fading and losing their share. Then maybe they will start being pro-active and get involved with social media and spot the mountains you highlight.
Keep up the good work.
This is so frustrating for customers. Most brands just don’t recognise that by putting a little effort into providing a good customer experience, they have the opportunity of turning frustrated customers into satisfied customers who are much more likely to talk positively about the brand and recommend it - and there’s load of resarch, like Edelman, to prove this. But the new media tools can help, if they are used to their potential. Why can’t a brand monitor frustrations on twitter and contact the effected customer? - what a service that would be. This is such an important subject, in trying to ensure customers get impressive service.
hi Piaras, had a similar conversation in work about twitter customer service today. Getting into twitter would be suicide if the company is not world-class at customer service. Southwest Airlines and Zappos both follow their customers on twitter, but they are also known for their dedication to customer service.