Bad customer service; some common mistakes in companies
A few decades ago, the concept of customer service did not even exist. Although competition in the markets has always been present – cabbages and mead were already being sold at medieval fairs to attract more attention -, in recent years the possibilities for buying all kinds of products and services have increased. This means that, in order to attract customers, it is no longer necessary to offer only the best quality or prices, but to make the shopping experience itself especially attractive.
The thing is, when we talk about the customer experience, we are in a very difficult situation. Dealing with users is a delicate matter, and mistakes can be made in many ways, sometimes without realizing this.
In this article we are going to look at – in order to avoid them, of course – some of those mistakes of bad customer service that tend to prevent things from working out. Put the mead down for a minute and read on!
-Not implementing or putting into practice a customer service philosophy
It is the starting point that should trigger everything. It’s like a scent that should fill the whole company. If you want to deliver a satisfying customer experience, the business philosophy must be focused on achieving this. And that is not the only thing: you must put it into practice
Many companies are unaware of this, and this leads to failure. They think that customer service is implied in the business or the philosophy of customer service is to put up a picture in the Director’s office affirming, “The customer comes first”.
In order to create a good customer experience, you have to truly love it and take action. The opposite will only be a waste of time.
-Treating the customer like a banknote with legs
This is still a mistake that many companies make. That’s right, every business wants to sell. But thinking that the customer is nothing more than a wallet with eyes is definitely wrong.
Think of this typical scenario: a potential customer contacts a company’s sales team to request information about one of the services they offer. However, during the query, the salesperson who assists him or her realizes that what this person needs has nothing to do with the services that his or her company sells. However, in spite of this, he keeps insisting that this service is the best one for him.
In this situation, this salesperson is likely to make some sales, but he or she will also generate a great deal of discontent among customers, who will see that what they have hired has nothing to do with what they really needed. With this type of behaviour, customers will no longer be customers and their reputation will be damaged.
-The shopping experience is not a pleasant one
Inadequate stores, lack of personnel, employees who do not know the products they need to report, problems with payment methods…. During the purchasing process there are many areas where the customer experience might fail. If we don’t pay enough attention to each and every one of them and if we don’t take the necessary steps to ensure that everything works as it should, it will be easy to make some mistakes.
Luckily, there are tools such as “customer experience maps” that can help us identify those ” sensitive points ” in the customer experience in order to improve the whole process. Do you want to learn more about this? Take a look at this article where we talked about creating a customer experience map.
-Not taking into account the customer’s opinion
Have you ever heard of “enlightened despotism”? It is an 18th century political concept that defended, among other things, slogans such as “Everything for the people, but without the people”.
Wanting to put the customer at the centre of your business, but completely ignoring his or her opinions is a big mistake. Don’t identify your own desires or personal tastes with those of your customers, and don’t think that only you know what they want or need, because they are the ones who really know.
Getting to know what customers think is not difficult. This can be done through surveys, direct questions in after-sales contacts, etc. Don’t be a tyrant and think of them.
-Not taking care of the after-sales customer service
It is a basic mistake that causes many problems. Some companies ignore after-sales customer service to the point that in practice they make it disappear or offer it in such a flawed way that it seriously damages the customer experience.
For example, we have the classic example of companies that avoid their customers once they have managed to sell them their product. Companies that hide their contact means or their means of communication are totally ignored.
Or companies that do not provide the resources for their customer service department, making it an absolute chaos and generating a terrible company image. A non-functioning customer service department is an outlet that can deeply damage a company. Do you really want to keep that passageway open?
These are some of the most common mistakes that companies make when it comes to customer service. Fortunately, these can be avoided with professionalism and good work. And there are tools that can help us do that. What do you think of this article regarding bad customer experience? Do you know more mistakes that should be avoided in order to improve bad customer experience? Have you ever had any bad customer experience? Let us know down below in the comment section! We want to hear your thoughts on bad customer experience.
For example, think of after-sales customer service. There are programs, such as ticketing software, that can help us improve it. One of them is Integria IMS.
Integria IMS is software that has, among other features, an issue management system (help desk software) based on tickets (ticketing) which can help in the customer service of your company.
Do you want to know what the Integria IMS helpdesk tool can do for you? Click here: https://integriaims.com/en/product/help-desk-software/
Or you can also send us any query you may have about Integria IMS, by using the contact form at the following address: https://integriaims.com/en/company/contact/
The Integria IMS team will be happy to help you!