This is a hard one to limit to only ten (10) examples, but the following are what I have observed to be the most common customer service mistakes. The aim of including a list such as this is to help you to identify where many businesses go wrong and, hopefully, to avoid making the same mistakes yourself.
Customer service can go wrong when:
1. Customers are kept waiting.
2. Promises are made but not kept.
3. Customers are treated like idiots.
4. Communication skills are poor (staff lack the ability to talk to customers).
5. Sales skills are poor (staff can't make a recommendation).
6. Service is inconsistent (good one day, bad the next).
7. It is difficult for customers to buy products.
8. Staff have poor complaint resolution skills.
9. Staff don't say 'thank you' at the end of the sale.
10. There is no follow-up on a sale.
You will have noticed that quite a few of the points listed above refer to sales ability, and there is a good reason for this. As this blog will show, customer service is all about meeting and, where possible, exceeding your customers' expectations. Poor selling skills make the whole process so much harder; in fact, customer service suffers dramatically in businesses where the staff aren't well trained in the art of selling.
7. It is difficult for customers to buy products.
8. Staff have poor complaint resolution skills.
9. Staff don't say 'thank you' at the end of the sale.
10. There is no follow-up on a sale.
You will have noticed that quite a few of the points listed above refer to sales ability, and there is a good reason for this. As this blog will show, customer service is all about meeting and, where possible, exceeding your customers' expectations. Poor selling skills make the whole process so much harder; in fact, customer service suffers dramatically in businesses where the staff aren't well trained in the art of selling.