There are many critical aspects involved with running a business, but customer service is undoubtedly one of the most essential. Without providing the proper assistance, your reputation will take a severe hit.
If you think that your support is lacking, it’s best to determine why as quickly as possible. The sooner you fix the issue, the sooner you can get your company back on the right track.
You don’t want to leave things too late. Otherwise, the damage can be irreversible.
In this article, we are going to take a look at ten common reasons for poor customer service.
Want to learn more? Then let’s get started.
Limited Support Methods
In order for customers to provide feedback, your business needs to have a variety of support methods. Not everybody has access to the same resources, so you must be inclusive and cater to different audiences.
Luckily, this can be done in a variety of ways. For instance, you may have phone and email lines, as well as self-service options and forums. Your business might also benefit from automation, such as with this ServiceNow Chatbot.
Long Wait Times
There’s nothing worse than contacting a business about an issue and having to wait hours or even days for a reply. It only causes more frustration, and you may end up with multiple requests from the same individual.
Of course, it’s not always possible to be on call 24/7, but you don’t want to leave customers waiting any longer than necessary. If you can’t manage all of the questions, you may need to look at hiring more employees.
Lack of Respect and Manners
Manners and respect go a very long way when it comes to customer service. Shoppers want to be greeted with a smile, not a poor attitude.
It’s also vital that requests are handled with empathy. We are all human, and occasionally customers will make mistakes. Be understanding and not dismissive (even if it is their fault). Alternatively, it’s critical to apologize genuinely when an error has been made on your end.
Insufficient Training
One of the primary causes of poor customer service is insufficient training. For your team to process requests and serve adequately, they need to know how to do their job correctly.
Despite what many think, working directly with customers can be highly challenging. Not only should your staff be aware of strategies, but they should understand how to handle conflict.
You can read more about the importance of training and development here.
Incorrect Hires
If you find that better training still isn’t increasing the level of support offered by your employees, it could be that you’re hiring the wrong people. It takes a specific personality to provide the proper assistance to shoppers, especially when they are being rather difficult.
Review your job description, speak to your staffing agency, and make sure you are outlining all of the qualifications you require. It might be worth looking for individuals who have previous experience in customer service rather than newbies.
Poor Treatment of Employees
Despite what you may believe, poor treatment of employees can also impact your customer service. If your team members are not acknowledged and respected, they aren’t going to be working to their full potential and may even retaliate negatively.
If you haven’t already, check out different ways to improve your company culture. Happy staff = happy customers, and you’ll know that your reputation will remain as healthy as possible.
Empty Promises
A rule that every business should follow is never to make promises they can’t keep. It will only lead to extreme dissatisfaction and ultimately result in a significant loss of trust.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t offer multiple solutions, but you have to be careful with your words. You don’t want it to affect your business later on, especially in the case of a legal battle.
Frequent Transfers
Above we mentioned long wait times as one of the reasons for poor customer service, and it’s also vital to talk about frequent transfers too. While bouncing around an individual to specific fields might be necessary, you want to keep it to a minimum.
Alongside the fact that it gets incredibly annoying, it’s easy for situations to become misunderstood. Without proper explanation between staff members, a customer may find themselves having to explain the problem over and over again. Not to mention that it’s possible for requests to become lost altogether.
Lack of Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures act as guidelines for a business. They are what your team members will follow to ensure that customer support is consistent and reliable.
If you don’t have any of these in place regarding service, it’s easy for shoppers to find loopholes. Your team should all be on the same page. Otherwise, nobody will ever get a straight or definite answer.
A few examples of areas your policies should outline include:
– Handling conflict.
– Business promises.
– Customer service workflows.
– Product and service descriptions.
– Reimbursements and other solutions.
Don’t forget to update these regularly. Feedback can be a great help and will allow you to design a policy that suits your specific target audience.
Unhelpful Solutions
Finally, bad service can also be a result of unhelpful solutions. While you may be limited to what you can do in certain situations, it’s best to exhaust all of your potential options.
You don’t want your customers to walk away feeling like no progress was made. Even something as simple as offering a discount code can help resolve a stressful circumstance before it gets worse.
Final Words
As you can see from the above, there are many potential causes and reasons behind poor customer service. Now that you know what to watch out for, you can ensure that your business uses the correct solutions to deliver quality satisfaction.
Trust us when we say it’s best to get out of any bad habits quickly. You don’t want to have to suffer the consequences.
