A couple days ago I walked into a beauty supply store. One of the cashiers’ counters happened to be in the same area where the item I needed was located. I walked up to the cashier who was swivelling in her chair, and requested the item please, she used her lips to point to a Sales clerk who was on a ladder reaching an item for a customer as if to say, “tell her”. I reiterated my request to the cashier. I thought that there being no one waiting to cash their purchase that surely, she could get off her chair and assist me but this time she responded, “tell she”, and again, pointed using her lips to the Sales clerk who was still assisting a customer.

The experience made me smirk. Just before entering the store, someone walked up to me and commented that she reads our articles and was happy that we were addressing the issue of poor customer service. The reader lamented about the sub-par customer service generally provided and of the limited options we must choose from. She asked me the question I believe is on many people’s mind, ‘How can we change this?’

I mentioned that more people needed to be vocal about moments of misery when they experience them. Furthermore, people need to stop enabling poor customer service. When someone experiences poor customer service and does nothing about it but continues to support those businesses, they are permitting that level of service.

At the request of that reader, today, we look at the effects of moments of misery/poor customer service on a business. Believe it or not, some moments of misery are strategies used by businesses to increase their profit margins. A Forbes article by Dmytro Lazarchuk titled ‘Bad Customer Service: A Success Or Failure Of Strategic Business Thinking? stated that some businesses find bad customer service useful for the following reasons- Cost-Cutting: When companies need to cut operational costs to make up for margins that are squeezed too thin, many end up targeting customer service, which is expensive and not always viewed as crucial.

Pursuit of KPIs: To meet KPIs, employees may forget the ultimate goal of providing a pleasant customer experience.

A Needless Expense: Companies like internet and cable providers often hold a monopoly in their service areas. Since subscribers have no option but to stick with them, they don’t invest much in customer support.

A Focus on price as value: To provide cheaper products or services, companies choose to spend less on support agents’ training.

Avoiding customer redress: Some companies deliberately design a complaint process that keeps customers from successfully resolving their issues. The ultimate goal is to prevent redress payouts that cut into their profits. The scheme is carried out using tiered structures that force customers to jump through hoops before arriving at a resolution.”

However, it is important to note that companies that consistently provide bad customer service eventually go out of business. No matter the type of business you are or how amazing your product is, your customers always want to feel valued and heard. Warren Buffett in one of his famous quotes said “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

No matter how established the business is, poor customer service creates a negative effect and if it persists may result in a host of problems including negative online reviews, online backlash, bad word of mouth, permanent reputation damage, lesser conversions from inquiry to purchase, loss of business and customer attrition, reduced employee morale and eventually bankruptcy.

Loredana Bobei in an article titled “11 ways bad customer service can destroy a business”, shared the following tips on how to improve the customers’ experience:

On-time. Address your customer’s needs before they start to fester and transform into negative reviews.

Out there. Be present when people are saying bad things about you online. Own the mistakes and offer free compensation.

Honest. Don’t pretend you haven’t screwed up when the consensus is that you did. It is not a good look, even if you might be right, you’re just making things worse. Empathetic. Train your customer service agents on how to understand the concerns and issues of your customers.

Humble. Lastly, and this one ties in with the others, never try to prove you’re smarter than your client or presume your client doesn’t understand what you’re saying. It’s insulting, especially when you’re talking directly over the phone.”

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