It can be very easy for a successful business to dismiss or even ignore complaints of poor customer service when business is booming and the EFTPOS machines are humming. Being complacent and having a nonchalant approach to legitimate customer complaints can be a bad mistake for a business that has a reputation for providing good customer service. With rapid advances in communication technology through social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook, angry customers who have been subjected to poor customer service can now simply voice their annoyance online about the shortcomings of a business to literally hundreds of people.
To maintain market share, it is therefore important for businesses and companies to take early steps in dealing with any bad experience a customer may have had to avoid it escalating out of hand. Taking decisive and positive action to resolve an irate customer’s grievance at an early stage will in many cases help to extinguish any negative comments the customer could potentially make through social media sites. Also, by handling the matter in a sensitive and professional manner the reverse could apply and even lead to a happy customer posting good comments online about the exceptional customer service that was experienced.
These days with a downturn in the economy, there will be many customers with money still to spend, but they will be looking for a bargain because they are aware times are hard for many businesses in a competitive market. Many customers also like to feel valued and if provided with good customer service by a business during a transaction or service they will remember the experience and return with repeat business.
A typical example would be a local pancake business that is always busy as a result of customer loyalty and previous customers returning. The business concerned may not have the cheapest pancakes or best coffee in town, but what it does well is to value its customers by making them feel welcome in a clean, inviting and friendly environment. The key to this typical business being successful is simply because the staff have the necessary customer service training, skills and make an effort to go the extra mile by offering an exceptionally good customer service experience, so that the customer will want to return and repeat the experience.
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