If you don’t care about me, then you don’t deserve my business

According to The Salesforce State of Service Third Edition report, 47% of customers say they’ll stop buying from a company if they have a subpar experience. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number one reason customers leave or don’t return is that they feel undervalued.

The old adage of the customer is always right is as powerful as ever. It’s more than a transaction. The customer is the judge, jury, and executioner.

Recently while on a work trip, I experienced two consecutive incidents of poor customer service at Melbourne Airport. 

Whilst airports are a captive market, and transactions could be viewed as a one-off and perhaps not needing the same attention to customer service compared to other businesses, these businesses are representative of a much bigger brand and that is one of the busiest airports and leading destinations in Australia.

In my case, I had travelled 3000km across two states in 24 hours. Tired, hungry, and keen to just sit down and have some time to unwind. 

In this case, I was wound up from my experience.

I ordered a burger and chips and soda water with lime. The soda came without lime and so I gently asked for a piece of lime. The bartender didn’t seem impressed. Then, I remembered I was on a work trip, and as I kindly asked for a receipt, not only did I receive the receipt but with a side of eye roll.

This interaction left me bewildered. The bartender was representing the outlet; positioned as an upmarket, hipster brewery, and boutique beer brand. 

I get it. Airports are busy places, with many commuters rushing to get from A to B. Yes, many commuters can be underwhelming with their manners and I could have just been the unlucky one to have caught the end of a day of dealing with pushy customers. 

Or..

Was he just too hipster to care? 

I was willing to give this experience the benefit of the doubt, until…

Only moments later my interaction with the car rental company left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

In my rush to return my hire car, I left my notebook and paperwork in the car. I rang the car hire company and followed all the automated messaging prompts until I was delivered to a message bank.

WHAT!!

Why bother having a customer service line if no one is at the other end to answer!

There was no mention of the department I was trying to reach, how long it would take to receive a response, or what to expect from the reporting process. Not even instructions for the information they needed to log my missing items. Weeks later after leaving multiple messages I still haven’t heard back. 

Your front line people are the brand experience and your processes need to be in order to enable your front line people to do their job so they can focus on the customer.

The Salesforce State of Service Third Edition report states that eighty-two percent of decision-makers say their company’s customer service must transform in order to stay competitive.

If your customer service team doesn’t show care and attention to each interaction you’re at risk of losing customers to another brand or business that is faster and far hungrier. 

To ensure your business is providing quality customer service and keeping competitive, there are four must-dos to capture your customer and convert them into advocates for life:

Be reponsive

The number one frustration is having to wait, being placed on long holds, or not knowing where your matter is at.

Communicate clearly and regularly

Clear and regular communications mean your customer knows where they stand and feel appreciated and cared for. If they have a problem you’re unable to solve straight away, provide clear next steps and an appropriate timeframe and...stick to it.  

Understand the needs of your customers 

Understand what your customer needs are; when they need you and be available. If you are going to claim that customer service is available 24/7 and you install a chatbot, make sure it works!

Go the extra mile

It really is the simple things that make all the difference. I found an amazing local Indian restaurant that saved my contact details, address and order into a profile from our first interaction so that when I ordered again, they found me seamlessly and what I liked to order - as though they knew me! 

Customer service is an art and takes time and thought into mapping your processes correctly and training your staff. 

As we all know, retention is much cheaper than acquisition.