Yes, I know this is slightly tardy but I have had over a
month’s-worth of poor health due to some version of the infamous flu bug, for
which my flu jab wasn’t ‘person’ enough for the job [Note: proper PC word use].
There are few things that set my temperature valves to
breaking point than the truly awful examples of bad customer service that I am
destined to experience, and last year was no exception.
It has to be said that the bigger the company or
organisation, the worse the customer service. Usually. I have worked in and for
organisations of all sizes over the years, and it doesn’t need to be so. It
comes down to management and communications.
Consider the effect that poor customer service has on me. It
ranges from:
·
Mild irritation. The problem gets sorted, I tut
and then get on with something else
·
Simple frustration. It takes longer to get
sorted but it’s ok, we get there in the end
·
Some short, sharp words of advice from me. Often
about a training need
·
I ask to speak with a manager. It gets worse
when they refuse to put me through
·
Some tweets ending with #fail
·
Emailing the Chief Executive. “Dear [xx], I’m
not normally prone to writing directly to the top honcho, but on this occasion
…”
·
A formal complaint. If I have the energy to fill
in copious forms. It depends on the incident
·
Advising the Ombudsman. Must have been a bad
incident
·
Contacting Watchdog. Must have been a very, very
bad incident. Don’t they know they’re dealing with a PR person?!
·
Considering sending the boys round (I jest.
Really.)
During the course of the above, my blood pressure rises
along with the volume of my voice.
Especially if I’m getting scripted responses
from an overseas call centre where the very nice people have not trained their
very nice people to veer off-script to actually help customers. Sometimes, if
I’m in a very good mood, I’ll play along with the idiocy of it all and tie the
poor person up in such knots that they may need psychiatric support after my
bout of mischief. I apologise unreservedly to them all.
What these companies and organisations seem incapable of
understanding is that there are real ramifications of ignoring the bad customer
service practices they operate. Be aware:
·
It’s bad PR, folks
·
Customers will go elsewhere to buy goods or
services
·
They will tell everyone they know about their
bad experience (and less frequently about their good one)
·
They will leave bad reviews; as we all know now,
reviews are increasingly used as online testaments for potential customers
·
You don’t know who you’re dealing with – who customers
really are and who they know (they might be the one person instrumental in
getting your next huge contract)
·
Your profits will suffer
·
Your shares will suffer, and your shareholders
will ask questions
·
Your brand will suffer – you’ve spent a lot of
money and effort getting it right and one or two bad experiences can have a
significantly negative effect
·
You may be fired
Top 5 fails of 2017 –
according to my own experiences during last year
- NHS
- GP surgeries with rude receptionists who don’t allow you to see your own GP unless you wait a month, by which time you’re either better or dead
- GP surgeries which don’t offer an effective online booking service. Or one at all
- NHS area appointment booking services which on the face of it seem like a good idea until in practice, they’re totally rubbish
- No emailing allowed. Come on, it’s 2018
- BT – truly awful customer service and accounts. Yes, both personal and business accounts were moved to other providers
- A certain mobility bathroom installer – young business owners/fitters working on our neighbours’ place; showed no respect and were rude when asked to move their van from across our drive. Repeatedly. They might have gained work from the whole road if they’d been more accommodating. Much lack of foresight shown
- Port of Tilbury – normally the most courteous and helpful assistance but one individual being offensive lets the whole side down. Considering giving him a Jobsworth Award
- DPD UK – ringing the doorbell, not waiting and taking a parcel away immediately. Twice. Perhaps it’s a corporate game of Knock Down Ginger
Also: O2, Vodafone, Royal Mail,
Lloyds Bank, HSBC – the list goes on.
As I said, it doesn’t need to be this way. No matter what
size or sector, organisations should be offering the best customer service they
can, through proper training and management. Managers should be trained to
manage – not simply be called a manager because they’ve been there the longest.
It’s not always the size of your budget, but the way in
which you manage it.
Managers/business owners shouldn’t be afraid to bring in
change and not do something ‘because it’s always been done that way’. Life has
moved on and you don’t need to be afraid of, for example, automating a process
and retraining your team to work in a different way. As long as you communicate
change effectively with all your audiences in the way in which they need to be
communicated with, and in a language they’ll understand, they’ll come along
with you.
Our clients are used to me asking why something’s being done
a particular way when it doesn’t seem logical to me. Most of the time there’s a
rational reason but now and then, I can suggest a different way of doing something
which involves less cost, resource or duplication of work, and I love it when
it works. Our smartest clients are those who are open-minded and listen, then
participate in the process. Quite often, it will enable them to work smarter
too. Plus I get to learn plenty from my clients, and I can pass this on to
others to help in their businesses.
You see, PR with Chimera is not only about communicating effectively,
promoting and selling more, it’s about the whole in terms of business strategy
– and that’s because we’re experienced, skilled people who have worked with a
wide variety of companies and organisations across the years.
And every now and then, if you stand outside my office, you
can hear the gentle ripples, caustic comments, or volcanic eruptions caused by
poor customer service.
One thing though – I always compliment people and say
‘Thank you’ when someone gets it right or goes above and beyond! I hope you do too.
No comments:
Post a Comment