Fighting to Get Customer Service

Anyone whose business is successful provides great customer service. If we don’t, we will fail eventually. Customers just do not have the time or energy to put up with anything less than decent customer service. What is the level of customer service that a customer will allow us to sink to before they take their business elsewhere?

Businesses may brag about their great customer service. They don’t ever say that they only give adequate customer service, and they will also never say that their customer service lacks anything positive. The big question is do businesses live up to their bragging about their customer service, or do they fail to address the problems with their service which disappoint their customers?

There are businesses with great customer service, and there are the ones with little if any customer service. Then there are businesses that fall somewhere in between the great and the ones who do not even know the definition of customer service at all. Why does any customer put up with anything less than receiving great customer service? Why does anyone support businesses whose employees do not even do their jobs?

Recently I had the occasion to complain to an international company about the service that I was receiving. I called their customer service representatives and stated my problem, which had been ongoing for some time. Previous attempts to resolve the problem were met with promises which were not kept, and I believed that I was being ignored. I had to demand to speak to a supervisor about my problem when the representative refused to deviate from the same marketing script which I had endured on several previous calls.

When I finally was able to discuss my problem with a supervisor, I threatened to take my business elsewhere if my problem was not resolved to my satisfaction. Since I have been a customer of this business for over 10 years, I believed that I was due to receive something other than a brush-off.

The supervisor listened to my problem, agreed that I should have not been ignored previously, made sure that I knew that he was sympathetic to my feelings, scheduled a service call at my home, at no charge to me, and responded favorably to my question if there was basis for reducing my monthly billing. After the service call, my problem was now resolved, in a professional manner, and I thanked and praised the service representative directly and to his supervisor.

While my problem was finally resolved, and my monthly billing now is less than it was previously, I still believe that the company needs to look at making changes to their customer service policy. They need to teach their representatives to listen to their customers’ problems, exhibit some sympathy to their customers, and offer solutions instead of a script of denials. A long term client should be rewarded, not insulted.

Through Gratitude Marketing we have the opportunity to build our customer base greater than we ever dreamed. We also have the opportunity to move customers to become clients and enjoy their referrals which will increase our success and prosperity. It is just good karma, but they should not have to fight to receive customer service of any level. Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.