Customer service is one of the pillars of successful small and big businesses. A company may have cutting edge technology and excellent product features, but if their staff treats customers poorly, they’ll eventually lose to their competitors. You need to know if your employees are giving bad customer service. Doing so allows you to re-train them and correct any mistakes.
Here are some of the signs of bad customer service.
Long Customer Wait Times
Customers that wait too long to get service will most likely choose another company. A long wait means that you don’t value the time of a customer. Many expect an immediate response within a few hours or just a few seconds. Train staff that answers phone calls, emails or chats to respond in a timely manner. You can provide them with a template they can customize depending on the problem and question of a customer.
Some Customers Just Leave
In an ideal world, you’d want to get an explanation from a customer when they stop buying from you or using your services. However, in reality a customer simply stops buying from you, especially if they receive poor customer service. This may happen because of a bad experience with an agent, long waits, inattentive staff, or poor after sales service.
No Initiative from Staff
Employees that don’t show initiative in helping customers and approaching them are bad signs. A customer might just walk out because they have plenty of questions but no answers. Invest in the training of staff at stores or call centers. This not only reduces your turnover costs, but also improves your small business’ customer service. Train them to have the initiative whenever they see a customer. This allows them to learn about the needs of that person and ways they can help.
Low Number of Return Customers
One of the signs you shouldn’t avoid is low number of return customers. You must be doing something wrong when there are no repeat customers. This might be so because of terrible customer service. Keep track of the number of returning customers. Get feedback from them to determine areas for improvement and suggestions of what you can do to serve them better.
Speed Over Quality
Sometimes your employees might be too overeager to resolve an issue. They would overvalue speed over the quality of their response. They might be doing this because it is an important rating metric you established for them. If you notice your employees doing this, adjust their performance metrics to focus on the quality of their assistance rather than the quantity.
Customers Go Through Multiple Employees Before a Solution
Your customers don’t want to talk to multiple agents before resolving their problem. The less people they deal with, the better their experience will be. Train your staff to resolve problems> provide them the tools and training they need to have multiple possible solutions to a customer’s problems.
When you spot these signs of bad customer service, it’s about time to re-train your employees and emphasize service. Treating customers better allows you to build a strong relationship with them.
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