MY VIEW
Good customer service improves profitability
Updated: 10/08/08 6:39 AM
The irony was unbelievable! I had just completed training a group of front-line trainees on customer service, extolling the virtues of smiling, eye contact, empathy and a positive, can-do service attitude. After a great class and a nice round of applause, I ventured back out into the world as a consumer at large. I was driving south on Transit Road in Williamsville, intent on completing my shopping trip as quickly as possible.
First stop: a local pizza restaurant. I was rebuked by the manager for attempting to pay for my event tickets with a credit card. “We only accept cash for tickets,” he said in a brusque, patronizing tone, as if he were addressing an errant child. Ouch.
Second stop: a popular wine and spirits establishment. I was scolded by the checkout woman for having the audacity to swipe my debit card before she had processed
my order. She was clearly annoyed that I showed up at her register in the first place because I had interrupted her in the vitally important task of staring off into space. Ouch, ouch.
Third and last stop: a national electronics chain. This was funny. Every associate I talked with could not provide me with the information I was seeking regarding satellite radio. One of the associates pointed me to “the expert,” a young man who was frenetically digging through the shelves, trying to assist a couple of customers.
The look he shot me said it all: “Halt! Do not even think about approaching me with your imbecilic questions — can’t you see I’m busy?” And after being beaten up at the last two merchants I had visited, I was in no mood to endure his bad attitude. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
I’d had enough for one day. As I retreated to my car, I wondered: are these people being trained at all? In the highly competitive market place, it’s a no-brainer: Kevin McCue is a corporate trainer who specializes in communication skills. He resides in Williamsville.
front-line associates are the face of their organizations and customers base their impressions of the organization on their interaction with these associates. The fact is, most people will not complain; they just won’t come back. And they will tell their friends about their negative experiences.
Interestingly, I often ask this question to my trainees: “Is customer service improving or declining in this country?” The answer is unanimous: customer service is declining. When asked to describe customer service interactions, words like rude, indifferent, condescending, nasty, annoyed and outraged frequently come up.
The fact is, when people get great service they talk. They tell their friends and this creates word-of-mouth advertising, advertising so powerful that you cannot put a price tag on it.
Conversely, when people receive poor customer service, they really talk. Research estimates the average person tells 17 to 25 other people about their bad experience, and this creates a seismic wave of negative advertising. In the case of a trainer or speaker, they tell literally thousands of people — a big price to pay for an organization’s representative with a bad attitude having a bad day.
As I tell my trainees: “With the rapid decline of excellent customer service in this country, there has never been a better time to impress customers with great service!”
The message is clear: There is a crying need for good customer service, and your organization stands to profit mightily by delivering it. Also, if you’re looking for a great customer service role model, visit your local Wegmans and take copious notes.
