Something that some of my friends will know of me is that I absolutely hate bad customer service. There are a number of large companies in this world who put profits first, customers last. Thing is, if they put customers higher on their lists, they’d actually increase their profits! Happy customers mean more repeat business and more word-of-mouth referrals.

Here are some examples of bad customer service that I’ve received recently, as well as what I’ve learnt from each of them. It appears that most companies don’t even care that there’s a recession, as they seem to be doing everything they can to lose customers! To avoid legal issues, I’ve decided to remove the company names from this article.

Manage customer expectations

The Problem: I was buying a new laptop from a large computer company. Delivery time on the website was stated at 3 days. Great I thought. In reality? It was 3 days for the company to dispatch the laptop, it was an extra 7 days for actual delivery! Nowhere on the website was it clear about actual delivery time after ordering. I only got an update about expected delivery dates after it was dispatched from the company’s warehouse.

The Lesson: Ensure customers are fully aware of what service or product you provide. Also ensure they understand your commitments. If you allow customers to become misled, and customers get frustrated as a result, you will lose customers quickly.

Allow customers to give you feedback

The Problem: The above-mentioned computer company did not provide any means for making a complaint about their service! No phone number dedicated for complaints, and they completely ignored emails I sent them. (and no, I won’t be using them again).

The Lesson: Accept it, any company will make mistakes. However, if you don’t allow customers to complain, you can’t find out the areas in which you need to improve. Whilst running a company, it’s virtually impossible to see your business from the perspective of a customer. From a customer’s perspective, you might be doing a terrible job! However, unless you find out what you’re doing wrong, you’ll just lose customers without knowing why.

Do what you say you’re going to do

The Problem (1): I had a “While You Were Out” card left by a courier. No problem I was out, however, the note on the card said “we will not redeliver”. Right, ok, decided to talk to customer service. Customer service explained that it was a misunderstanding and that redelivery would be sorted for the next day.

The next day, I checked online, and the tracking details had no mention that the item was being delivered. Not happy. Called the courier again, “no, it’s not been sent out”. So I said I was told that it would definitely be delivered that day. To their credit, the customer service representative called up the depot, and requested it be put out for delivery for the same day.

The Problem (2): I had an issue with a broadband company charging the wrong amount for an internet package, which was based on a special deal. I also had an issue getting them to change the package in the first place (took 3 attempts!!). Several emails to customer service have yet to resolve the issue with incorrect billing, and that’s after 3 weeks. I will be leaving them when the contract is over.

The Lesson: If you’re going to arrange delivery, then do it. Don’t allow the customer to remind you to do what you said you’d do. Failure to do what you said you’d do means you can’t be trusted. Companies without trust will lose business.

Conclusion

It’s shocking how bad customer service is in this country, and nobody seems to care. I had all these issues in the space of just 2 weeks! So if you’re unhappy with a service, complain. If you receive a complaint, act on it! Complaints can be very useful, so don’t consider them to be purely hassle.

Remember a simple rule, a satisfied customer tells 1 person. A dissatisfied customer tells 10. Good customer service takes work, but in the long run, you’ll be more profitable.

Update Charles from PiggyBankPie made a point that customers who complain and then get their issues resolved, typically tend to be happier customers than those who experienced no problems at all. Something else worth bearing in mind!