If the product you ordered never arrived – or when it did, it arrived broken – you’ll want to get in touch with that company ASAP and see a fast resolution, whether that’s your money back or a replacement product. But often it’s just not that simple.
Pick up the phone and you’re likely to be waiting a long while on hold. And if you get through, you may simply be passed around the office with no agent willing or able to deal with your problem. Add to that the possibility of rude and unhelpful staff, and up to an hour later you could be nowhere near solving the problem.
It’s not surprising then that bad customer service costs US businesses an estimated $41 billion a year. As shown by NewVoiceMedia, 93% of people take action after a bad customer service experience and this could be anything from switching to another business to sharing their experience on social media, to writing a damning ‘revenge review’.
Quite simply, it makes financial sense to look after your customers. Good customer service does two things. Firstly, it ensures you get the most out of every customer interaction by building trust and increasing brand loyalty. Secondly, outstanding customer care is outstanding PR.
Treat your customers well and it will project a positive image of your business, and your customers are likely to share their happy experience too. 69% of people would recommend a company after a good experience and 50% would use that business more. There really is no sensible reason not to invest in amazing customer service for your business!
James Duval is the business and technology editor for GKBC.