What is Good Customer Service? Common Misconceptions of Good Versus Bad Customer Service

On an average day, most people will handle a customer support representative anywhere from one to five times. Some customer service encounters are classified as"good" while others are disdainfully known as"bad". If someone experiences what they'd consider good customer service, they typically only about their day as though nothing out of the ordinary happened. If that exact same person experiences bad customer service, they won't hesitate to tell everybody who will listen. Typically I ignore the latter of both for one main reason: does anyone actually know what great customer support is?

Having worked close to ten years since a customer support agent and manager in multiple businesses, I have experienced my fair share of customers who weren't happy with me. And to be totally honest, not many of them actually had any cause to be angry. They called me ready to fight.

Past Experience Can Lower Expectations

Sometimes, previous cases of truly bad customer service can leave you with a bad taste in their mouth regarding customer support agents, and lead them to go on the offensive from the moment they get somebody on the telephone. I'll provide you an illustration: years ago I joined a gym and signed up for some personal training sessions. After a while, I discovered that the sessions were too pricey and I really didn't have a lot of time to attend , so I decided to cancel the service. It took me at least an hour of managing the original salesman, his supervisor, and the general manager to finally get it resolved, and even then I had to pay a cancellation fee. They tried to convince me to register for a cheaper plan, postpone my sessions rather than cancelling, and also take some time off from work to earn more time for the sessions. Absurd.

A few months ago I found myself in a similar situation with another gym. The trainer sessions were not likely to be worth the cash and were finally likely to conflict with other things I had happening. I named the gymin a foul mood because I had been anticipating a fight with whomever I had to talk with. Much to my surprise, the very first person I spoke to simply cancelled the sessions, no questions asked. Here I had gotten myself pumped up, ready to lay into the very first person who gave me quite a hard time about my cancellation, and it was to be one of my most enjoyable customer service experiences.

Customer Service Is About Perception

But often times what a client considers"bad customer service" really is not bad at all, it is simply their perception of the circumstance. The furniture market is a classic case where a customer's misconception of what customer service really is may lead to them deciding they have obtained"bad customer service".

When I worked at the furniture business I often found myself dealing with individuals who'd, scream, yell, and even insult me because of a clearly written policy set. For example, furniture deliveries are generally given a four hour window in which the drivers will arrive. This is a business standard because everybody's home is different, so there is no telling how long each delivery will require until the drivers arrive. Deliveries are organized geographically to enable the drivers to complete as many stops as possible, so a particular time of day is not guaranteed. The concept of delivery time frames and how they are scheduled was clarified to each customer since they bought their furniture and when their delivery has been scheduled. Obviously, for some customers, this just wasn't good enough. Despite being told two previously, and having the written delivery coverage attached to their sales receipt, they had it in their minds that they had been different from each other client, and could select their period of delivery. While we had been open to the idea of attempting to accommodate themoften times it had been hopeless when the trucks were loaded. Those phone calls typically ended with"this is bad customer service","I will never shop with you people again,""this is NOT how you run a business," or my favorite,"I'm going to tell all of my friends to not shop here."

Common Misconceptions

There are two common misconceptions regarding what customer service really is. The first is that a client service agent's job is to do everything the customer states, no questions asked. That is absolutely not true. A customer service representative's job is to give service to the customer and help them in any way they can, but like every other organization, business's have guidelines which their employees must comply by and particular rules that apply to customers. A worker's inability or refusal to violate these rules shouldn't be seen as inferior customer services. In many cases, rules are set up to safeguard the customer. In the event of a healthcare supplies merchant, a large part of their items are inclined to be non-returnable due to hygiene reasons. When it comes to goods such as toilet seats, shower seats, and bathing aids, this policy makes great sense. However, regardless of this coverage being clearly posted for clients to determine prior to buying the item, it does not stop an alarming percentage from attempting to return the things anyways. Though they know that the item is non-returnable, and they would never consider purchasing an item of that nature that is utilized, they still feel that the retailer should take the product back if they decide they don't want it anymore. And in the event the retailer fails, the customer perceives the problem as"bad customer service".

Another misconception is that a client support representative's job is to take verbal abuse from the client. This behaviour is completely unwarranted, and to be entirely honest, immature. Issues are not solved by crying, screaming, or insulting the person on the opposite end of the telephone. 99 percent of the time, the person the customer is speaking to isn't at fault for the reason they're calling in the first place. Whether a customer has had a bad day or past bad experiences with a business, it doesn't excuse them to take their frustrations out on the first person who picks up the telephone. Countless times I found myself hanging on someone because they have crossed the line and relegated to insulting me because they were not contented with the business.

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