We have all been there – bad service, frustrating IVR systems, long holds and less than efficient reps. As something light in honor of TGIF, here are some truly terrible customer service examples collected from around the web and what we can take away from them.
1. “My father passed away. I called a credit card company to cancel his account. I said, “My name is Debra. My father Pat passed away and I am the Executor of the Estate. I am calling to cancel his account.”
The rep replied, “Well, I need to talk to Pat.” I said, “Listen very carefully. He’s DEAD – now if you want to talk to him, you’ll have to figure out how to. GIVE ME YOUR SUPERVISOR!” The Supervisor got on the phone and I said, “Do you have a connection with God?” She cracked up laughing – she had heard about the conversation.
While it’s great that the supervisor (and the customer) here had a sense of humor, if the rep had been paying attention in the first place this call would have been resolved without the need for a supervisor and the insult to the customer. If the supervisor had been listening into the call, they would have been able to coach, or more appropriately in this case, simply taken over the call immediately from the rep who was clearly not invested or paying attention. And while the end result call of this is unknown, it is a positive sign that the supervisor got onto the call informed.
What goes into a good customer experience?
2. A reader of Kate Nassar’s blog.
The story: I was trying to get some information from the local cable company, Comcast, about my bill. I couldn’t understand the different groupings of channels which had no explanation just names like Extended Package. She couldn’t explain it and kept getting the same channels in different groupings. I said, very politely, “I don’t understand your explanation, is there someone else who can explain it to me so I will understand it.” She replied: “You’re stupid.” Then she hung up.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, right? This type of resolution is unacceptable in today’s market. Make sure your reps are equipped to explain all types of product information, and are trained to have patience with customers. Agent scripts, supervisor assistance, and the ability to transfer to more skilled agents are all resources provided by call center software that this rep could have used to help answer the customer’s question. In a study by Harris Interactive, “According to consumers, customer service agents failed to answer their questions 50% of the time.” If the tools are there, there is no reason your rep should fall into the negative 50% of this statistic.
3. Not too long ago, I was at supper with my husband and two friends at a new restaurant. I ordered a 16 ounce porterhouse steak, and I ate the entire thing (I am a true carnivore). The waiter came by the table and said, "I've never seen anyone eat so much steak." As if that wasn't bad enough, he asked us if we could leave before he got off so he could get his tip. That restaurant is now closed.
This type of issue is not limited specifically to dining locations. Experiences like these, where a customer feels judged, insulted or unappreciated are often the kind that lead to negative online reviews.
“News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for a good service experience,” White House Consumer Affairs.
Your customer’s are your bottom line, and deserve to be treated as if they matter. Had a manager been within earshot or informed of this situation, would this story have made it online? Probably not. Supervisors: take the time to pay more attention to what your reps are saying. If you have the ability listen-in to calls, review recordings, pay attention to customer surveys, go around to the tables to ask how the meal was, do it! If you take the necessary steps to counteract a negative first impression, you just might get the customer to come back, and if not, you can provide a stellar example of what not to do for your reps next time!
4. "I chose [a] laptop because the salesman gave it high marks, and there was $150 in rebates, which brought the cost in line with an HP I was looking at ... I did [a] presentation that afternoon, but the computer kept freezing up, and I was having to reboot during the presentation. I went back to Circuit City and asked to replace it with another computer. They wanted $200 to restock the item even though it had only been 3 days ... They pointed out that that I had only 15 days to return it, and I showed them the receipt only being 3 days old. They would not do anything about it."
You effectively have just lost this customer’s future business, because of one person’s lack of action. Chances are, had the rep simply scanned the receipt, the option for a return/exchange would have come up, and the customer would have left with the item they needed. As is, there is a good chance the customer will seek an alternative form of contact with the company to get this issue resolved. When this customer calls in to the customer service line, they are immediately starting the call with a negative impression of the company. If they press 2 to speak to an agent about a return/exchange, make sure that pressing 2 gets them to an agent who can not only help them, but that is able to access all the customer info they need to assist the caller. Ensuring a positive experience through these alternative channels will not only help to resolve customer issues, but will provide valuable training resources for those reps “on the floor” who cannot be monitored all the time.
5. This one appears on multiple lists and websites.
“It appears that one Customer ordered a package but never received it. After not being able to get in touch with the company, she wrote a negative post about her experience on Ripoff Report. Three years later she received a notice saying she had 72 hours to remove the negative review or she would be fined $3,500. KlearGear also has a clause that if you cancel your order, even for a reason like you never received it, you get charged $50.00.”
This is surely one of the most extreme examples of a company not caring about a customer that is out there. This case caused an uproar that led to an F rating with the BBB and such an outrage on company social media sites that they had to be shut down. The customer has a right to their opinion, and a right to have their problem resolved. Negative reviews can impact your business, but hiding behind unfair (and in this case illegal) fine print policies instead of taking the time and effort to resolve a problem can hurt your business exponentially more than someone simply saying they did not receive an item. Reach out to the customer, let them know you care, that their business is still important to you – or you won’t have a business left for them to come to.
