In this blog post, our Lead Associate in the UK, Siân Humphreys asks “Does anyone wake up in the morning and think ‘I’m going to give all my customers a really poor customer service today?”
I don’t think people do! So why do we have examples of poor customer service day in and day out across all sectors? Complaints are increasing and those are the ones where people take the time to tell us something went wrong.
So why does poor customer service happen and what can your business do about it?
I’ve been thinking about writing this blog for a while now and I think it could be a book. Poor customer service can happen anywhere, even in the best organisations. The reality is we are human beings and sometimes things go wrong even with our best intentions. We shouldn’t see a complaint as a negative experience but rather an opportunity to put things right and make things better.
All sorts of things contribute to a poor customer experience, lack of training, poor communication, individuals making mistakes or forgetting things, not understanding customers expectations or being clear about what can be done. But my personal favourite is having processes that stifle innovation and empowerment amongst staff.
Someone did that once and got told off.
Take this example – I stopped at a service station and wanted a skinny latte, to be told they didn’t have any skinny milk. There was a well-known high-street brand selling skinny milk opposite the coffee shop. I asked if they could buy some skinny milk from there? “No” was the response from the embarrassed barista – “Someone did that once and got told off”. Enough said!
I expect that company had spent a fortune on customer service training and had set out their vision and values to provide a great customer experience – well they had failed. I wasn’t having a great customer experience and I’m pretty sure the barista wasn’t enjoying the moment either.
My point is that after a while even staff who give a great customer service will eventually provide a poor service if the processes don’t allow them to be flexible or stifle innovation, they will be empathetic and respectful, but they and the customer will be frustrated because a good service is beyond their scope. They may even decide to leave that organisation.
Businesses need to take a holistic approach.
Businesses need to take a holistic approach to giving good customer service and providing their customers with a great experience – training is key and you will see the impact but….. if you ensure your processes don’t hinder the service, the experience for customers and staff will be great. The result, less waste in your processes, more motivated staff, better internal customer service and customers receiving services that they want to the level they expect.
Sian Humphreys, Lead Associate UK – Big Picture Training & Learning Design