How Important Is Customer Service To You?
Day in and day out we find ourselves needing some sort of customer support. Whether it be at a retail store where you are buying something or, calling customer support because your internet is down. The wide range of services provided that need support is not getting smaller. More companies are starting to run their businesses online or even through ebay stores. Whatever it may be there are standards that people expect to be met when dealing with something that is customer service related.
In my opinion I believe poor service is the downfall of a company. That very service is the face of the company. Do you think a company that is not able to keep up with the needs of their customers/clients will be able to last long? I’m of the opinion that is nearly impossible to do. If a company is either unwilling or not capable with keeping up with the very people who support their business how long will people continue to use that service?
The past few months I have been paying attention to a few companies and how they handle things, and I’m not all together impressed. Why is this you wonder. Well without giving specifics about the companies or the situations themselves, I will tell you that it seems not all who work in a support type function are able to remain professional or provide what the client is looking for, in most cases that’s just answers.
Have you filled out a how are we doing card recently? I know I haven’t but maybe that’s something everyone should get into the practice of doing again. But even if we do fill out those cards are the customers actually heard?
If a company is going to provide something as part of their services should they not make everything a priority, if it’s dealing with their customer base? Or is it ok for a company to not focus on some areas of the service they offer?
I want your thoughts on this. The more companies I see that provide terrible service the more I question 1) work habits/ethics 2) are companies hiring people that are able to provide proper service 3) do customers feel they are heard when they have a complaint and/or suggestion? 4) are those running the company capable of doing so?
One thing that definitely doesn’t sit well with me is poor service. That goes for anywhere. A restaurant, the movie ticket counter, retail store, online ordering, anything where customers are involved.
As a consumer when I’m calling, emailing, etc. for support, I expect someone to be able to provide me an answer, a solution if one is required, a way to solve the issue at hand if there is a problem. What I don’t want is someone who says I’m not sure, I’m not able to help you and I’m not sure who you need to talk to, etc. We’ve all heard these excuses after being transferred around.
How do you feel when you are not satisfied with your customer service? Do you stay with the service if it’s not something you are happy with? If your cable provider was constantly overcharging you or if it was never working properly would you switch providers you were using?
Bottom line is. Happy customers = return customers = more business/word of mouth promo.
Unhappy customers = losing business = less business/no promo = company fail.
I’m by no means saying that all companies have poor or even terrible service, but it doesn’t seem all businesses are putting focus into making their clients happy.
