Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service
My guest blogger today is Meredith Estep, Vice President of Client Services with Unitiv. Unitiv is a provider of IT solutions based in Alpharetta, Georgia. You can find Meredith’s regular blog posts at Intelligent Help Desk Blog.
I’ve followed Meredith’s writing for some time, and I’m always impressed with how she gets to the heart of what is important. This post, the Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service, is a great checklist to pass around to the team just as a reminder of those negative customer service behaviors that we all trip over – usually unintentionally.
Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service – by Meredith Estep
In customer service, it only takes one negative incident to lose a client for life. In this article, we will take a look at ten common characteristics of bad customer service with the purpose of showing alternatives that would serve customers much more efficiently and positively.
1. Failing to greet customers when they walk in the door.
A customer that is not acknowledged upon entering your business will not feel like the valuable commodity that they are.
2. Hanging up on an angry customer.
No one likes being yelled at, but disgruntled customers sometimes need time to vent before dealing with their concerns in a rational manner. If the customer becomes abusive, get a manager. Never hang up on a customer.
3. Eating in front of customers.
No one wants to watch someone eat their lunch – or even a mid-morning donut. Leave the food for the break room and keep your mouth clear for talking to your customers.
4. Putting a call on hold without asking first.
It is a simple courtesy to ask before putting someone on hold. In addition, you are less likely to have the customer hang up in frustration when the elevator music starts to blare.
5. Avoiding eye contact with a customer.
When you are talking to someone, you want to know that other person is listening to what you say. Customer service representatives who do not make eye contact look rude at best, and downright shifty or dishonest to others.
6. Socializing with other employees when customers are present.
Customers do not care to hear about your plans for Friday night. Unless you are asking a question about your customer’s business specifically, stop all personal conversations until there are no customers in the vicinity.
7. Forgetting to use common courtesies.
“Please” and “thank you” are mainstays in customer service. Unfortunately, they are not used nearly as often as they should be. Common niceties exude professionalism, as well as courtesy, and should be used without fail.
8. Yelling at a customer.
Let the customer vent and then deal with their complaint in a calm, rational manner.
9. Using technical jargon when talking to customers.
You do not need to talk down to your customers, but it is helpful to use language they understand when explaining company policies and procedures. Leave the technical jargon for your coworkers.
10. Complaining about the company to customers.
There are no exceptions to this rule. There is never an appropriate time to bad-mouth your own company to a customer. This could potentially cost your company money or even lose the customer altogether.
Bad customer service is prevalent today, but it is not hard to overcome. By studying the bad, you can replace it with stellar service that will boost your customer base and your profits.
Fantastic reminders!
Just today I was at the sporting goods counter of a national chain store and the clerk told me that she had only recently been moved to sporting goods. While pointing at some other customers who had just walked away from her counter she commented ,”I don’t like worms (as in fishing bait) so I’m glad we’re out of them!” Then she pointed to the ammunition behind her and said, “And I don’t like the ammo because I don’t have a gun!”
I told her I thought that perhaps they should reconsider placing her in sporting goods but she said she was moved there “to get enough hours”.
“Everything speaks!”
I’ve worked in customer service for years. These are the best tips on keeping customer happy and impressed with the service they receive. I believe this also helps fostering an environment that will keep your reps happy and retain them longer.
True words!
I really enjoyed this article! You always hear about what makes “good” customer service, but don’t often think about the things you could be doing that are detrimental to your customers’ experience.
These are great tips! Just a few quick tips can make the difference in the kind of service you put out there! I also think that these tips can be used within your company and fellow colleagues (letting others speak first, don’t talk bad about the company, using common courteseies, etc.) Not just applicable for customer service – but for good skills to adopt for your work life!
I can definitely relate with each of these points. Good customer service is something to be commended, and these are great guidelines of what not to do! #9 is particularly important in my line of work. It’s so important to remember the customer may not always be up to speed with the techical terms. Great article!
What a great article! I think all of these points could be boiled down to one word, RESPECT. Respect is so often left out of the customer service equation, but it is essential to customers feeling they are truly valued.
Thank you for the reminder!
Great article! These tips seem to be obvious don’ts in he world of customer service, but you would be suprised! It takes effort to remain positve and composed at all times in a call center environment. Thank you for this post!
Excellent…Ms. Estep should be encouraged to write a book!