Poor Customer service is, the Customers fault.
After twenty years of working in professional development with customer service and sales staff it has come to my attention that poor customer service is the fault of the customer. As customers we simply don’t give the feedback that sales and customer service staff need, we wait in hope that they will start to treat us better without giving clear indications that they aren’t treating us well. More over we aren’t often concerned that the sales person isn’t really interested in us, until we need them to be, and then it’s just too little to late.
Somewhere along the road to here, we lost our way. We got glad-handed and didn’t complain and we took it and we accepted it and now it’s the norm. I for one simply am not going to take it anymore.
Why is it the customers’ fault? We broke the social rules, etiquette is both written and unwritten, the unwritten is enforced by disapproval. Disapproval is often indicated by body language, those grimaces frown’s and contortion that we use to show others that they are far from pleasing us.
Recently I have had the opportunity to spend more time out in the World, people watching. What is funny is that we don’t show disapproval the way we would have even twenty years ago. I don’t know why but people will go rigid when dealing with a sales person face-to-face rather then tell them, that they are standing to near. We walk away rather than express a breach of manners.
The alternatives to these non-verbal shows of disapproval are to make a written or verbal complaint. Frankly most of us don’t have the time to go out and argue with these people so nothing changes for the better.
At one time in society written rules of business and social etiquette were widely read and adhered to, but now much of must known rules of business etiquette are simply undocumented and unnoticed. A lot of the call centre managers are now moving over to a system of grading on net promoter score, it is based on the number of people will to promote your company. I simply can’t believe that many people are out there promoting companies in the first place. I myself am using the old fashion method I cal and complain if they do anything about it I try to work with them otherwise I vote with my feet.
Over the last few years I said goodbye to Vodafone, Microsoft, Sage, Goggles 4U, Research In Motion and Eircom. The hotels are far to many to mention, Bank of Ireland are on their last chance but it isn’t looking good. The one thing I can say is that I have gone back to a restaurant recently after swearing off of them, the flaming grill in Tallaght. I should have stuck with my first impression service was crap food was basically OK but I felt ripped off because it was so bad the time before and I just don’t have a low enough opinion of myself. They only got a second chance because it would be so great if they were good because of their location.
Then today I walked into the shop I bought my new mobile phone in to pick up a new battery. The phone last less than a day, I have been back to the shop three times sense buying the phone, each time the staff member tries to lie to me about how long the battery will last telling me the phone is OK. Today I when back to get the new battery and low and behold the guy that sold me the phone was in and said that the battery hadn’t arrived but it would be in by the morning. He said it was strange the battery should last much longer then I am getting, I asked if he had any cases in stock yet. He said “I will get one for the morning and give it to you for having to come back so many times”. I certainly hope he is in when I go back in the morning, as I think I should punch the other guys in the face to help them learn about good service!