Abstract
The topic of this paper is the
subject of Customer Service and its place in modern business. My objective here
will be to assess the current state of customer service in the American
business realm. I will be examining the pros and cons of the way American
business are currently handling customer service issues. Also I will make my
own personal recommendations on how I think customer relations can be improved
and also give my forecast for the future of customer service in American
business.
Introduction
It seems a predominance of the
companies in business today, no longer care about providing quality customer
service. Well at least, not in reality. Gone are the days of, the customer’s
always right and service with a smile, or have it your way. You will hear fine
slogans on radio, and see their many ads in magazines and in movies and on TV,
but when you actually have the misfortune of having to deal with these
companies face to face, you experience a totally different reality. Companies
have discovered the smoke and mirrors magic of advertising. The following is a
breakdown of how I will present this paper.
1. The old way of doing business
verses the new way.
2. Poor Customer Service and its
results.
3. Good Customer Service and its
benefits.
4. Conclusion (My opinions on the
current state and the future of Customer Service).
The old way of doing business verses
the new way.
It used to be that companies
attracted and kept customers by producing a quality product that sold for a
reasonable price. This was combined with aggressive customer service to create
a good reputation. Companies used to firmly stand behind their products.
Nowadays all of that has been replaced by slick advertising, trick contracts
and misleading statements. Companies have discovered that they can package dog
poop and sell it as sunshine, and get away with it. All they have to do is run
a massive media campaigned telling the public that there product is the
greatest thing ever. If they say it enough, many people will believe it. They
just have to make sure that they wrap themselves in a protective blanket of
carefully hidden disclosures and high priced law firms. It’s these kinds of
practices that lead to poor customer relations. Poorly built products and
misleading advertising, equals frustrated and angry consumers. For instance, it
should be understood, that when you purchase a product, it should work as
advertised for a reasonable amount of time, If you use it for its intended
purpose and in the manner prescribed by the manufacturer. The customer should
not have to purchase a warranty. The product should work and if it does not
work, the company should either replace the product or refund the money. That’s
just good sound business. What happened to up close and personal. What happened
to face to face eye contact a smile and a hand shake. What happened to a man
giving his word and standing by it.
Poor Customer Service and its
results.
First I will explore the issue of
poor customer service. We’ve all experienced it. Some of the main places that I
have personally experienced absolutely horrible customer service, is in state
and
government offices. Places like the DMV, The Unemployment Office, Social
Services or the Social Security Office. Everyone has horror stories about how
their luggage was lost during airlines travel, or how their flight was
overbooked, or how they ordered a product and it arrived late, broken or not at
all. Or perhaps they received the wrong item all together. When something goes
wrong, customers want satisfaction. They want results and they want them right
away. Customers want to be heard. They want to feel that someone is listening
to them and that someone understands, and cares about how they feel. So, what
happens when customers don’t get what they want? First they get anxious, then
they get agitated, and then they get angry. One dissatisfied customer, can cost
you several customers. During the course of a couple days I asked approximately
50 people what they thought was poor customer service. To my surprise, most of
them pointed out that they disliked the same things. The number one complaint,
they all stated they hate that when they call a business they have to try and
navigate through an automated customer service system. They mentioned that
sometimes they cannot figure out how to get passed the computer and reach a
person. It would seem that people still prefer to talk to a live person vice a
machine. Another complaint was out sourced customer service. The people I
interviewed reported they were offended when they would call a company, finally
get passed the answering computer and then they are put in contact with a
customer service center somewhere in India. The general complaint was they want
to talk to an American. The sad truth is in many companies there are employees
involved with customer service, who are underpaid and poorly trained.
The following was taken from the MSN Money website. “When MSN
Money readers responded to a story about Home Depot's customer service with more
than 6,000 message-board posts, we knew we had tapped into a deep well of
consumer outrage and a great opportunity to better serve our readers. The
central question quickly became: How can we help to empower the millions of
consumers who feel victimized by cutbacks in customer service and overwhelmed
at the prospect of fighting for their rights against giant corporations? “[1]
If a company provides
poor customer service, it will have many disgruntled customers. Many companies
have gone out of business
because of poor customer
service. More than ever, customers want to be treated with respect.
1.
Lost Market Share
o When you provide poor
customer service, you will lose market share. Your competitors will begin to
take over your customers. A disgruntled customer will quickly spread the word
about the poor service he received from your company.
Decreased Profits
o Bad Customer service can lead to decreased
company profits. When profits tumble, stock value can decrease as well. This
will adversely affect shareholders.
Low Morale
o Your customer service
department will become inefficient and ineffective. They will spend the
majority of their time on the phone arguing with customers. This can lead to
low morale and high turnover. No one wants to work for a company that is not
top-notch.
Change in Management
o Poor customer service
can lead to a change in management. Sometimes a new leader can exercise a certain
amount of discipline, which will turn things around.
Increased Training Expenses
o If a company provides
poor customer service, it will incur expenses to train employees on new
techniques and procedures for customer service. The company will also have to
train new employees as a result of the turnover. Expenses will increase, and
sales will decrease. [2]
Here's a look at our
full results:
"Poor"
|
"Fair"
|
"Good"
|
"Excellent"
| |
Bottom 10
| ||||
Sprint Nextel
|
40%
|
28%
|
25%
|
7%
|
Bank of America
|
30%
|
25%
|
32%
|
13%
|
Comcast
|
30%
|
33%
|
28%
|
10%
|
Time Warner Cable
|
29%
|
35%
|
28%
|
8%
|
AT&T
|
26%
|
36%
|
31%
|
7%
|
Citibank
|
24%
|
34%
|
35%
|
8%
|
Wal-Mart
|
23%
|
32%
|
32%
|
13%
|
Verizon
|
22%
|
31%
|
36%
|
11%
|
Wells Fargo
|
21%
|
27%
|
38%
|
14%
|
DirecTV
|
20%
|
29%
|
33%
|
17%
|
Dishonorable mentions
| ||||
Dell
|
19%
|
26%
|
40%
|
15%
|
Circuit City
|
19%
|
35%
|
39%
|
8%
|
Best Buy
|
14%
|
31%
|
42%
|
13%
|
Home Depot
|
13%
|
29%
|
43%
|
14%
|
Sears
|
12%
|
33%
|
45%
|
10%
|
Macy's
|
10%
|
30%
|
47%
|
13%
|
[1]
Good Customer Service and its benefits.
Now on to good customer service, so
what is good customer service? Good customer service is being attentive to
customer’s needs. The nation of Japan is known for its professional and
hard-working people. The Japanese excel at business, and one of the chief
reasons they excel at business is, that they excel at customer service. In
Japan when you walk into any business, all of the employees in the area will
welcome you. As you enter a restaurant you will hear, “irrashai mase”, which is
welcome in Japanese. In most Japanese businesses, there will also be someone
there to welcome and assist you. Translation, they take customer service very
seriously.
To site a personal example from my
past, I worked for a department store that sold mostly clothing and their
primary customer were the so called well to do. Rode’s sold products at two and
three times what you would pay if you made your purchase elsewhere. When a
customer leaves a Rode’s store they do not experience buyer’s remorse. In fact
the customers not only feel good about their purchase, they feel good about
themselves. Why is this you may ask? I will tell you why. Clothing is not the
main product sold at Rode’s. Rode’s sells customer service. Not good customer
service, exceptional customer service. Today we have things like online
ordering and automated checkouts. The following table was taken from the
ehow.com website.
Companies with good
customer service
The customer service elite
| ||||||
Brand
|
Industry
|
Process Grade
|
People Grade
|
Service Index
|
% who would recommend
| |
1
|
USAA
|
Insurance
|
A+
|
A+
|
992.6
|
79%
|
2
|
Hotels
|
A+
|
A+
|
991.3
|
60%
| |
3
|
Automotive
|
A+
|
A+
|
985.4
|
51%
| |
4
|
Retail
|
A
|
A-
|
947.1
|
57%
| |
5
|
Wegmans Food Markets
|
Supermarkets
|
A-
|
A
|
938.9
|
60%
|
6
|
Edward Jones
|
Broker
|
A-
|
A
|
938.2
|
58%
|
7
|
Automotive
|
A+
|
A+
|
932.5
|
55%
| |
8
|
Shipping
|
A
|
B+
|
931.5
|
40%
| |
9
|
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
|
Rental Car
|
A-
|
A-
|
926.8
|
44%
|
10
|
Restaurant
|
B+
|
B+
|
920.3
|
45%
| |
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5246338_effects-poor-customer-service.html
Rankings are based on the combination of data from J.D.
Power & Associates, BusinessWeek readers and customers. [2]
Conclusion
My personal philosophy in regards to
customer service is simply this; you should treat every customer you come in
contact with as if they are the most important person you are going to meet all
day. I don’t believe that certain people should be designated as VIPs because
they are wealthy or friends of the owner of the company. I believe that every
customer is a VIP. I believe that business and customer service whenever
possible should be personal. Face to face is always best. Nothing beats a smile
and a handshake. People want to be treaded decent and with a moniker of
dignity. People expect professional honest customer care. In the future I hope
that companies will return to real and personal customer service. Will that
happen? Unfortunately, I don’t think so.
References
[1]MSN Money staffLast,
Initials. (2011). How companies were ranked. MSN MONEY, Retrieved from
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/HowCompaniesWereRanked.aspx
[2]Melvin Richardson, Initials. (2011).
Effects of poor customer service. eHow Money, Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5246338_effects-poor-customer-service.html
Dane E. Gilkey
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