When was the last time that you experienced horrific customer experience at a well known company? What do you do when they treat you as if you were the one in the wrong when all you were trying to do was explain what happened and why your were so dissatisfied? Many companies found out too late that customer service is the life
blood of any organization. Today's consumers depend on superior customer
service otherwise they will drop your organization like a hot potato.
Without world class service you will find your customers making their
way to your competitors to get their needs met.
Bad customer service creates unhappy customers with big mouths that like to talk.
Every time a customer is treated poorly by the customer service department they will not hesitate to tell five or six friends or family members. Many organizations have had to close its doors because they did not understand the importance of treating customers fairly. Your market share will erode year after year if someone doesn't put an end to the harsh treatment customers receive. I own two businesses and I follow strict guidelines as to what to do for unhappy customers show a situation arise. On the side, I also work part time for a national company that follows such guidelines and will also go to great lengths not only to protect it's name rather to make the customer happy so that they continue to keep coming back time and time again. You see, that's what good businesses with morals and ethics do. They do what it takes to look out for YOU, the customer.
Obviously it's important for companies to have a customer service training program. This helps the customer service department keep up to speed with the best way to resolve customer issues. Sometimes a best demonstrated practice can be put into place, regarding a particular problem.
Good customer service starts with the greeting. Service representatives should always smile even when they are on the phone.
Believe it or not a smile is projected throughout your entire interaction with a customer. A customer can tell if an employee wants to talk with them and help resolve their problem. They can also tell if they are being rushed off the phone so that the representative can take the next phone call. Where though does the chain of command start? Who makes the rules and what lengths do they go to so that they can ensure a customer that this was a 'fluke' incident and that they stand behind you? What happens when no one stands up for you and you are left high and dry with merchandise that you cannot use?
My experience was this afternoon when I attempted to go to my local Walmart and return an HP Inkjet that was purchased. You see, a few weeks ago I grabbed one from the wrong rack and thought I was taking something else. No biggie right? Wrong. After today, I will NEVER walk through the door of Walmart again. The experience that I endured with the manager on site and the customer service associate was enough to make me want to vomit. I purchase a box of inkjets for my printer. I was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong box. Working long hours I did not have the time to get back to the store until today almost 10 days later. When I went back and asked to please exchange the jets, the woman ripped the box open and told me that she can't take a damaged box that was open as a return? What? It was not opened. It was sealed when I bought it. Not only was I totally screwed rather now I am out the money.
Sure I can write to HP and ask them what to do, but why isn't Walmart going to take responsibility for this? In case most of you don't know, unlike shopping at a Staples, where there merchandise is in a locked case, Walmart has theirs out in the open where anyone can tamper with it and put damaged merchandise back. Hey, it happens all the time. People are sneaky and tricky. What I also learned was that my box had been tampered with. You see, my cartridge packages were cut open. I wouldn't have ever known this because the box I purchased was sealed shut tighter than a drum. They tried to tell me that the cartridges were empty.
Angry as I was, I took the cartridges to Walgreen's and asked them if they were in fact empty, and they were not. They were full cartridges that were open and I was stuck with them at this point. What happened to this product is unknown to me, but because of my mistake, I am stuck with something now that I don't need. To be honest, it's not the product that bothers me so much as the poor customer service experience and the bad taste that was left in my mouth. Not only did I just write to the corporate office and demand a call back to rectify this lack of judgement on their behalf, now I want to be reimbursed for an hour of my time and gas that it took me to go to the Walmart store, get turned away with a bad attitude by their staff and for the time it took me to look up their corporate office email, write them and vent. I don't know about you all but my time is valuable, and yours should be just the same. Had they treated me with respect as they should have this could have all been avoided.
What can you do if you run into difficult times over merchandise and bad experiences?
Bad customer service creates unhappy customers with big mouths that like to talk.
Every time a customer is treated poorly by the customer service department they will not hesitate to tell five or six friends or family members. Many organizations have had to close its doors because they did not understand the importance of treating customers fairly. Your market share will erode year after year if someone doesn't put an end to the harsh treatment customers receive. I own two businesses and I follow strict guidelines as to what to do for unhappy customers show a situation arise. On the side, I also work part time for a national company that follows such guidelines and will also go to great lengths not only to protect it's name rather to make the customer happy so that they continue to keep coming back time and time again. You see, that's what good businesses with morals and ethics do. They do what it takes to look out for YOU, the customer.
Obviously it's important for companies to have a customer service training program. This helps the customer service department keep up to speed with the best way to resolve customer issues. Sometimes a best demonstrated practice can be put into place, regarding a particular problem.
Good customer service starts with the greeting. Service representatives should always smile even when they are on the phone.
Believe it or not a smile is projected throughout your entire interaction with a customer. A customer can tell if an employee wants to talk with them and help resolve their problem. They can also tell if they are being rushed off the phone so that the representative can take the next phone call. Where though does the chain of command start? Who makes the rules and what lengths do they go to so that they can ensure a customer that this was a 'fluke' incident and that they stand behind you? What happens when no one stands up for you and you are left high and dry with merchandise that you cannot use?
My experience was this afternoon when I attempted to go to my local Walmart and return an HP Inkjet that was purchased. You see, a few weeks ago I grabbed one from the wrong rack and thought I was taking something else. No biggie right? Wrong. After today, I will NEVER walk through the door of Walmart again. The experience that I endured with the manager on site and the customer service associate was enough to make me want to vomit. I purchase a box of inkjets for my printer. I was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong box. Working long hours I did not have the time to get back to the store until today almost 10 days later. When I went back and asked to please exchange the jets, the woman ripped the box open and told me that she can't take a damaged box that was open as a return? What? It was not opened. It was sealed when I bought it. Not only was I totally screwed rather now I am out the money.
Sure I can write to HP and ask them what to do, but why isn't Walmart going to take responsibility for this? In case most of you don't know, unlike shopping at a Staples, where there merchandise is in a locked case, Walmart has theirs out in the open where anyone can tamper with it and put damaged merchandise back. Hey, it happens all the time. People are sneaky and tricky. What I also learned was that my box had been tampered with. You see, my cartridge packages were cut open. I wouldn't have ever known this because the box I purchased was sealed shut tighter than a drum. They tried to tell me that the cartridges were empty.
Angry as I was, I took the cartridges to Walgreen's and asked them if they were in fact empty, and they were not. They were full cartridges that were open and I was stuck with them at this point. What happened to this product is unknown to me, but because of my mistake, I am stuck with something now that I don't need. To be honest, it's not the product that bothers me so much as the poor customer service experience and the bad taste that was left in my mouth. Not only did I just write to the corporate office and demand a call back to rectify this lack of judgement on their behalf, now I want to be reimbursed for an hour of my time and gas that it took me to go to the Walmart store, get turned away with a bad attitude by their staff and for the time it took me to look up their corporate office email, write them and vent. I don't know about you all but my time is valuable, and yours should be just the same. Had they treated me with respect as they should have this could have all been avoided.
What can you do if you run into difficult times over merchandise and bad experiences?
Ask to speak to a supervisor or manager if necessary. A
manager or supervisor will usually have more options available to
effectively fix your problem.
Offer your suggestions. If you have ways in mind to correct
the problem or improve customer service, let the supervisor know. You
may be able to offer a solution that the manager didn't think about.
Accept that you may have to compromise. In some cases, the solution that you are seeking may be impossible.
Write a letter to the company or business owner. Make sure
that you include your initial problem, the names of everyone you spoke
with, your specific customer service complaints, your proposed solution
and your contact information.
Find a new business to frequent. If you find that you are
unable to get your situation resolved in a mutually agreeable way,
taking your business elsewhere will make a powerful statement to say the least. This is especially true if you are dealing with a small business.
Don't give up. There is an answer, and if you look hard enough, someone will help you.
Don't give up. There is an answer, and if you look hard enough, someone will help you.
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