Recently I was investigating the activities of my fellow marketing bloggers, and I came across a fine example of poor customer service, which can effect any business. In this instance, the business consumer had suffered greatly because of the downtime incurred through their technical problems, and they’d spent a vast amount of time, over a period of a couple of weeks, on the phone being transferred to a variety of 
people and seemingly not getting anywhere. I’m sure you’ve all experienced similar phone calls, at least at some point; I really sympathised with the consumer because it could easily have been me! But eventually, as miricles go, the consumer somehow managed to be transferred to a girl who could help – who listened, who apologised and cared enough to compensate this person for the difficulties experienced through their service, even if it was a discounted rate for the next year – it was better than nothing!
The consumer was so surprised that this one girl had taken the time to apologise, talk and help, that they have been raving about her ever since! Although, surely the received reaction was the least that should have happened, right? Well, in short, YES! We all like to be compensated for our losses, and as far as I’m concerned, we should be if the losses were down to someone else; however, it is a rare occasion that a big business will show one customer that they are of THAT much value to them. Customer Service is an ongoing discussion between many because consumers are getting fed up of not being treated properly; for example, the banks have a hideous record of dealing with complaints (usually to do with missold credit card insurance) and we trust these people with our money? Well, no, but we have little choice, they’re all very similar in their traites.
BUT Just as one bad thing can ruin a perfectly great day or week, this small good thing ended the consumer’s miserable two weeks. Therefore, I want you to remember that it’s the little things that count, like letting a customer know if you’re going to be a little late, or apologising for a mistake, even if it wasn’t down to you personally. This is where the phrase, “The customer’s always right” comes from; this saying doesn’t mean that the customer’s always right, but when they’re not, is upsetting or proving them wrong, worth losing their business? Always apologise for any inconvenience caused and reimburse their money when they feel they deserve it – they obviously have their reasons. And remember that customers talk, a lot! It’s more likely that most of us will talk about our bad experiences before we talk about our good ones, which means that as a company, people are more likely to talk about what you did wrong as oppose to what you did right! So don’t give them any thing to complain about.
If you provide one-off services, why not send the customer a thank you letter, so they feel appreciated? If you provide an ongoing service, such as cleaning, try to communicate relevant tips to your audience, interesting ideas or facts, to show the consumers that you’re thinking about them and you’re not always trying to squeeze every penny out of them. This will make consumers sit up and notice you, and, more importantly, talk about you in the best possible way!
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Valuable thoughts and advices. I read your topic with great interest.