The Ten Worst Customer Care Errors

Customers' expectations are higher than ever. With instant, worldwide communication now a part of our everyday lives, research suggests that over 50 percent of customers expect complaints made over the phone to be resolved in a single day, despite an industry average turnaround of ten days. But turnaround time is not the only area of inconsistency. Here are ten more customer services mistakes SME's regularly make:-

1. No response - Research shows that 90% of consumers who have a complaint satisfactorily resolved go on to actively endorse the company. So why do many businesses not even acknowledge complaints or feedback.
2. Expensive robotic phone lines - You should make the communications between your customers and your company as personal as possible.
3. Telling Lies - Make sure staff have access to accurate, real-tiem information and are aware of the pitfalls of over-promising and under-delivering.
4. Rudeness and Insensitivity - From market stall traders to high street shops, rudeness is one of the most common complaints from customers. Look out for your customers by training staff to be courteous and polite.
5. Passing the buck - Empower all your customer representatives to deal with problems themselves. This will give the customer instant confidence that you are actually going to do something about their complaint.
6. No empathy - One thing that continually frustrates consumers is dealing with poorly trained staff who show a lack of empathy.
7. Inconsistency - Inaccurate or inconsistent advice is a major annoyance. Ensure you treat all customers the same by logging each complaint and the action taken as you go.
8. Hidden charges - Overcharging is a real bugbear. Handling fees, booking fees and credit card charges are all hidden costs to the customer and a source of great irritation.
9. Insincerity - Have a nice day, how's it going and is there anything else I can do to help? These are all throwaway comments that only aggravate when combined with an underwhelming service experience.
10. No complaint log - Customers hate having to repeat themselves, especially if they have something to complain about. It is essential that you record all the steps you have taken to fix the root causes of a problem.

Taken from the IOD "The Ten Worst Customer Care Errors" article at http://www.iod.com/