Has good customer service gone the way of the dinosaur?
I suppose it depends on who you ask because there are still some examples of good customer service according to many. Two examples are Nordstrom and Chik-Fil-A although there are certainly people who would object to that classification.
Customer Satisfaction Survey Says…
According to a recent customer satisfaction survey study that was written about in Forbes, 58% of your customers are willing to pay more for a good or service if it is consistently a good customer service experience. Let that settle in for a second. People would pay more for a service if it comes with exemplary customer service.
And who hasn’t been there? Think about it: you’re at the big box store, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, or Lowe’s. You need a specific item, but it is not easy to find. “Over on aisle 13” if you are told that…and so you go…and you look and you look…and, well, first, nothing on that aisle is even related to what you need. That is not a good customer service experience, that can be replaced by a map at the entrance of the store.
A good customer service experience would take you to the item, then, on top of it, they ask, “What’s the project?” They would then show you other things you might need or other ways to save yourself time or money.
A Bad Customer Experience Costs You Money
According to another Forbes article, up to 67% of consumers are “serial switchers.” Think about what would happen to your business if 67% of your clients switched to a competitor…because of a bad customer experience. That’s the cited reason for the switch. And big businesses lose billions in revenue each year from bad customer service.
Now, imagine a company that not only listens to what you need, then provides good customer service, but also an alternative that costs less or takes less time. Bad customer service has now taken over as the number one reason why people leave a company or choose a different product. Social media has given the bad customer service not only a microphone but a megaphone with a global reach.
Just think of this last Christmas: Southwest Airlines spent years establishing itself as an airline that is flexible and has better customer service than the older more established airlines. Due to an antiquated reservation system, when there was a nationwide weather system that grounded a lot of flights, Southwest Airlines customers were down for multiple days, which led to a serious dip in their stock price, and their reputation shattered. Their loyal rewards members took a membership drop they have never seen. The other airlines had to deal with the same weather, but Southwest ignored hundreds of flights, and therefore thousands of customers left at wrong airports, or canceled flights and no way of dealing with them.
Providing Great Customer Service: What Does It Take?
What does it take to ensure that everyone within your company is providing great customer service? The answer is training along with the drive to succeed. Customer service is comparable to effort on a football field. Regardless of your athletic ability, the effort you give as a company can and will make a difference. Common sense and training can lay the path and course that your employees can excel.
Tomorrow’s Opinions: Raising the Standard in Customer Service Training
Regardless of your industry, Tomorrow’s Opinions can help you create a framework and a skeleton that your employees can use to position your company in the best way possible with your current and potential clients. Our individualized customer service training is ideal for all industries.
Restaurants, car dealerships, law firms, and even financial institutions can benefit from a system that quantifies an average customer experience so that the decision makers can utilize all the pertinent data that Tomorrow’s Opinions can give them. We meet with the executive team, determine the best course of action, then have regular meetings with them to turn their customer service matrix from negative to a positive. Use our contact form to schedule your consultation now.
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