In my career, I have managed customer service departments, within some very large and small corporations training my associates in the art of taking complete care of the customer. Going above and beyond for the customer, and handling the irate customer. I was met with blank stares as employees did not have a clue to what I was talking about. Imagine how those stares worsened, when I began teaching how to keep a customer from becoming an irate customer.
I have always been amazed at how difficult this concept was for many employees and even some to grasp, and yet we are all consumers, and we all know exactly how we want to be treated, but still it seemed like such a daunting task for employees to understand that taking complete care of the customer has been and will remain one of the major components to a any company’s continued success.
Companies today are implementing automated customer care systems that can be both beneficial and detrimental to the overall success of any business. The reason for the automated systems is to feed the need of today’s customer to have access to simple transactions more quickly, by pushing a set of numbers. This can work fine for simple bank transactions, shipping information, product order and distribution, but is detrimental to any business, and any customer, when a problem arises.
And I must tell you, problems will arise at some point. Automated systems tend to make matters worse, when a serious problem arises and the customer cannot get a hold of a live person for resolution! So by the time the customer does reach a real person, he or she is so frustrated that this agent now has the task of satisfying the irate customer. Can they? Do they resolve the problem?
My experience says very rarely. Unfortunately, now that companies have gone to automation systems, the training quality of the customer service agent severely lacks the compassion, sympathy, and skill to effectively resolve the customers issue. This has become a major problem in today’s world. Proper customer service is a Dinosaur in today’s world. It has long been proven that all customers expect a problem, even though they are agitated by the problem, they all understand that problems may arise. How efficiently the problem is resolved is what the customer needs in order to remain a long term customer.
We also know that a resolution results in repeat business. Customers will talk about how great this company handled their problem, and how resolution was reached quickly. This is the Dinosaur that is quickly becoming extinct. In today’s world, our society wants everything now. Technology has spoiled us, as we now have cell phones, enormous amounts of drive-thru’s for everything from prescriptions, to picking up laundry, to getting our lunch, and even picking up a quick cup of coffee on the way to work. Technology is good, and we all enjoy the benefits of it, but is it really worth it, when it comes to effectively handling customer issues?
The disadvantages for the company is when they lose a customer, because the automation system cannot solve big problems, and the agents, who often are reading from a script are not trained to handle the big problems. The disadvantage for the customer is they lose that human touch, and resolution can be a daunting headache and time consuming.
I will always be a customer service fanatic. I believe we need to bring back the Dinosaur and train our staff to efficiently and effectively handle our customers and their issues. I believe it is the single best investment any company can make. If agents are trained properly to handle these problems that will arise, this can and will increase any businesses longevity.
Author: Karen Scouten
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable pressure cooker
- Government Regulation for PayPal, Inc. Financial Services
- Visitor Services Volunteer
- Volunteer Technology Support Associates
Related Posts -
Voip Phone Systems For Small Businesses - For Effective Communication Small businesses have ambitious goals similar to those set by large firms, but they have more of a need for cost-effective solutions. VOIP phone systems for small businesses are one of these solutions.Efficiency and Flexibility to the Nth Degree Efficient, flexible and economical solutions are essential for communication between various...... - Telephone Systems - They Shouldn't Be an Afterthought Starting and expanding a business is hard work. Everyone knows this. There are so many factors with which to consider that many people end up focusing too much attention on certain details that main components of running a business are overlooked. One system that can't be overlooked, but often......
- Virtual PBX Voice Mail System For Your Business Needs Voice mail services are provided by major telecom providers keeping in mind the needs of business firms, executives and the common man alike. These services are often provided in conjunction with PBX, office telephones, residential phones and cell phones. The need for the virtual PBX voice mail system arises......
- 5 Benefits to Using a Virtual Phone System With Your Business The phone is the primary means of communication for most small companies. A virtual phone service can really improve your existing phone service to levels that you might not think imaginable. Your small business can see several benefits if you choose to use such a service.Here are just 5......
- Dialing In On Selecting a VoIP Service Provider VoIP service providers convey data transmissions of IP telephony signaling protocols called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) which are fundamentally used for voice over IP (VoIP) calls. The provider is the main hub between networks which allow land line and VoIP users to connect.Substantial savings from your traditional phone statement......
Related Websites -
Just How Important Is Customer Service? As most of you know by now, I live in a small town. A VERY small town. One of those places where everyone knows everyone else, so you cannot really give someone the finger for driving too slow or talk badly about someone for fear that the person you are...... -
Why Big Companies Are Blogging? There are still some old school business people out there that consider the whole idea of blogging for their business rather ridiculous. Unfortunately for these people, they will never understand that the world is changing and blogging is a whole lot more than just a bunch of people in their...... -
Top 10 Sneakiest Business Tricks [/caption] There are a lot of marketing tricks that businesses use to drill into your brain that you you must buy their product. Being aware of these can help protect you from your subconscious mind. Of course, the flip side is that if you are business, you can use these...... - More T-Shirt Resources To See Special T-shirt Feature 2005 Launched by fibre2fashion.com (PRWEB) November 23, 2005 -- Fibre2fashion.com the largest B2B information provider to Textile & Apparel Industry today announced a new online Special T-shirt supplement to meet online buyers and seller of T-shirt and Knitting Industry worldwide The first of its kind as a......
-
Music Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......
Related posts:
