There is a severe price for poor customer service. If you don’t treat your customers well, they will buy products and services from somewhere else. It’s that simple.
They will not buy from you again, and they will tell others not to buy from your company either. With how many companies there are out there, the ones with good customer service will thrive, and the ones with poor customer service will suffer.
This seems to be fairly basic and common sense, but there are always surveys to back things up. You can see the full list here, but below are some highlights and very telling results from this survey: In 2011, 7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. (American Express Survey, 2011). There is something to be said for brand loyalty and the best way to get this brand loyalty is to treat your customers well and have excellent customer service.
What consumer would want to go back to a company who treated them poorly? Let’s be honest; people hold grudges, and once you lose someone’s trust, it’s nearly impossible to get it back. If a company provides excellent customer service and helps consumers with problems or defects in products, that consumer will be back. In the last year, 67 percent of customers have hung up the phone out of frustration they could not talk to a real person (American Express Survey, 2011).
Phone menus can be really aggravating. There have been times where the menu does not list the option that I want, but bypassing it to talk to a real person can be a struggle. Bank phone menus seem to be notorious for this, and no matter how many options you try, it can be nearly impossible to get to a real person.
It makes sense that consumers would hang up if they have difficulty getting through to a real person. Often, real people can help you much quicker than a menu can, or a real person can, at least, get you to the right person to answer your question. Customer Service Reps are 78 percent of a happy customer experience If a customer service representative is rude to a customer, that customer will hang up even quicker than the one that can’t talk to a real person. If a customer service representative is genuine and helpful to a customer, they will buy from that company again.
It’s no great mystery that excellent customer service is a necessity for all businesses, but it’s a good reminder to realize how many customers feel this way. If you implement a standard of great customer service, you will have many repeat customers.