We all love being told how great we are at something, like when a customer gives a great review about our service, we know we are doing something right and we strive for more. But what about the not so great interactions? Maybe they were out of your control, or down to a misunderstanding? Or maybe you have experienced them yourselves … Think about the bad taste that they left with you! Lets look at …
What Can Bad Review/Interaction Do To A Business?
Negative word of mouth can be extremely damaging to your business, I know when I have had bad experience in the past that I have told many of my friends about it, as I want to look out for them. With statistics showing that a dissatisfied customer will tell around 15 people about it.
It really is not something you want to leave to chance. They are more likely to share bad stories than the good ones, as they normally have really frustrated them. So having a bad review can cost you existing AND/OR new custom – wouldn’t you want to ensure that your business has its customer service in order to minimise such reviews!?
When this happened to me …
I was called by a company wanting to gain my Messages On Hold business for AdWords, they arranged a time to call me and I was intrigued by what they had to say. Then the call came, the person was rude and condescending about our account (which I knew was not in bad shape as I had already been working on it).
After I managed to shake the very rude sales person off the phone my first thought was “well, I wonder if anyone else has experienced that & how can I tell people about this”? I was angered at the level of customer service and I didn’t want anyone else to be put through this, it was unpleasant and a waste of my time.
What I did …
After looking at their Google Business Page; as they were a Google provider I decided to leave a real, review on their google+ business page; that’s right, a Google AdWords supplier, getting a review on Google saying that I wasn’t impressed with their service; surely that couldn’t be good for business!
Then what happened …
Sure enough I was contacted by the company, instantly! Asking what they could do to make me change my review; after being offered free time and other compensation, I told them that I wasn’t interested and that the poor customer service needed to be addressed, not my review.
To this day, whenever a fellow business person asks for my opinion on a company I will never recommend them.
The first rule in business is customer service, and I believe you treat people how you want to be treated.
What I learnt from this is …
All businesses need sales people that are polite, helpful and consistent in their interactions with all customers. We are a company that prides itself on word of mouth, great reviews and excellent customer service. It’s why our team are always polite, consistent and provide excellent customer service to all of our Messages On Hold clients and prospects.
Have you had bad service in the past? Don’t let your businesses customer service up to chance, train your team to speak to your customers in line with your business ethics, views and image. What does your business do to ensure that customer service