| Can Poor Customer Service Lead To The Fall Of a | | | | at one time or another, but one example that I found |
| Business? | | | | online with a quick search online was of a customer |
| Absolutely. | | | | who was cheated of their money through a company |
| Most all marketing specialists will tell you that "The | | | | called Medtexx, where the company was unwilling to |
| average business spends six times more to attract | | | | provide a refund when the customer did not like being |
| new customers than it does to keep old ones." That | | | | swindled. But the company wanted to keep the |
| says a lot about the importance of putting the | | | | money instead... which will probably lead to their |
| customer first. | | | | eventual downfall. Apparently this person was not the |
| It has become more and more common to see | | | | only dissatisfied customer, according to the BBB |
| customer service lacking in both small and large | | | | reports for the past couple years. If your company or |
| businesses. The business either is growing faster than | | | | business were to be this far in the danger zone, then |
| they can provide training to their employees, or the | | | | the best thing that you can do is to go back to those |
| company is not established on the right qualities. | | | | customers that you wronged and personally try to |
| This has become such a problem that there are many | | | | make amends and see how you can make it up to |
| experts and authors that try to offer paid or free | | | | them to make them happy. |
| advice and tips. There is an article by Jill Homer titled | | | | I purchased auto parts through one site on the internet |
| "Tips for Curing Bad Customer Service". | | | | where I would most definitely return, just because they |
| Jill describes the typical scene where a customer | | | | bent over backwards to answer any of my questions |
| steps into a store and wants to know where to find a | | | | and they even called me up to follow up with my |
| certain product. In the example, the employee is busy | | | | order a month later. |
| and does not want to be bothered, and so gives the | | | | One of the very most critical points of a successful |
| customer a short answer and continues whatever she | | | | business is good customer service. Utah State |
| is doing without even giving the customer eye contact. | | | | University showed recent findings in customer service. |
| The customer kindly persists, and so with obvious | | | | The average business only hears from about 4 |
| annoyance in the voice, the employee begrudgingly | | | | percent of its dissatisfied customers. The other 96 |
| turns around and points the customer in the general | | | | percent quietly go away. |
| direction of the product's location. But instead of | | | | This is quite dangerous for any business because if a |
| purchasing the product, the customer leaves the store, | | | | dissatisfied customer can not share their complaints |
| frustrated, vowing to never return again. | | | | with the business, then they will share them through |
| Jill goes on in her article to give some tips on how to | | | | other means such as friends, family and neighbors. |
| train yourself and your employees to have a different | | | | Statistics show that the average dissatisfied customer |
| way of thinking and acting that will put the customer | | | | will tell 8 to 10 people about their problem. One in five |
| first. | | | | of those will share that with 20 others. So you can |
| Art Waller, Regional Department Head for Utah State | | | | see how repeated offenses of poor customer service |
| University says to "Never, never, never ignore a | | | | can quickly snowball into the downfall of a business. |
| customer". | | | | It does not matter if you are the owner of a large utility |
| I can think of a lot of examples of where I was either | | | | company, a popular soft drink company, an airline, a |
| personally given poor customer service or heard from | | | | sports store, or of a start-up hot dog stand, customer |
| a friend of mine about an example of poor customer | | | | service should be of your utmost concern. All too |
| service. I always check the internet reviews of any | | | | often, we see where an employee just decides to |
| hotel before I stay there and if there are a lot of | | | | ignore a dissatisfied customer with the hope that it will |
| negative reviews, there is no way that I would stay | | | | just go away. The employee mistakenly thinks "oh well, |
| there. But any business can shoot itself in the foot by | | | | what is the loss of one customer?" However, the |
| providing poor customer service, especially in this day | | | | problem is that poor customer service, just like good |
| and age of the internet. | | | | customer service, will be shared with all of their friends |
| I will not point out more than a couple of examples, | | | | until the business fails or flourishes. |
| since I am sure we have all seen someone get burned | | | | |