Products and services that are remarkable get talked about. A famous quote from Seth Godin. And Seth, products, and services that are below par get talked about even more. Guarantees of poor customer service? They are everywhere you look. Like fireflies on a hot summer night.

poor customer service — Good customer service performance?

Many businesses spend considerable time trying to create great customer service and customer experiences. Problem is they start their work on the complex side of the equation

Examples: Stunning Customer Service Lessons and Their Examples

And another important perspective from Seth:

People don’t believe what you tell them.

They rarely believe what you show them.

They often believe what their friends tell them.

They always believe what they tell themselves.

Seth Godin

“Your call is very important to us,” is not a true statement because it’s a promise not meant to be kept. The truth is self-evident. You’ll often say what you need to make customers go away.

“I promise I’ll tell my manager about this,” is of course not a real promise either. It might be uttered with good intent, or might be designed to get an annoying customer to go away, but still…

You can already guess the problem with little lies. They allow you to blur and then ultimately get you to cross the line, and they lead to bigger and bigger lies. The worst kind of little lies are the ones you make to yourself. Once you’re willing to lie to yourself, it’s all downhill.

So here are some great examples of poor customer service. The easy stuff, so to speak. The stuff your business needs to start with … to make sure no issues here. But while your business is working to build the great customer service … the little things are killing you.

We’ve all seen and heard these before:

Lack of empathy

Many employees are not engaged. And they don’t care.

Employees not empowered

Employees can’t act on their own to solve your problems.

Broken promises

Broken promises and no follow-up. No closure on what they tell you. Little lies that start to grow.

You answer questions

Customers get handed off and have to repeat the answers. Sometimes 3 or more times. Really annoying.

No menu option

Companies don’t have a menu option to talk with a real person. Until you have been through the wringer 3 times or more.

Long waits

Long waits on hold with a repeating recording telling you that the business will be with you momentarily.

Poor customer service by multiple handoffs

With many handoffs, you are beginning to wonder if everyone in the company is brand new. And knows little.

Customer survey requests

Too many multiple requests starting before you have ever had any service.

Very long time to get a response

No quick response either verbally via the phone or online chat.

Nowhere on the website to find information

Very difficult to find the information you assume it should be readily available.

Companies that refuse to break small promises have a much easier time keeping big promises. And they earn a reputation, one that makes their handshake worth more. Simple things are done right.

They make sure the little things are working well before they turn their attention to the more complex elements of service and experience.

Given that expectation and trust are just about all we have left to sell, it seems to us that little lies and small promises are at the very heart of the matter. And they’re a simple choice, nothing requiring an MBA or a spreadsheet. Just common sense.

If your customers know you will always focus on your needs then they will treat you accordingly and often will not trust you. You will not be a high priority for them because they are not a high priority for you.

But if they know you will always do right by them, they will treat you like someone they can trust. And they’ll come back more often.

Remember … the more you engage with customers, the more you can own the moment, the better your understanding of their needs and from these insights the easier it is for you to win new customers. And keep the ones you have happy. This is the most important thing you can do. Making poor service go away.

Do you have a customer service experience to share with this community?

Need some help in building better customer service for your customers? Have you noticed the growing importance from customer service you provide, especially for your marketing? Creative ideas to help enhance your word of mouth marketing?

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your customer service improvement and pay for results.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas for your service to customers.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

How to Build Trust to Keep Customers Returning

Best Buy Lessons in Customer Service

Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

Products and services that are remarkable get talked about. A famous quote from Seth Godin. And Seth, products, and services that are below par get talked about even more. Guarantees of poor customer service? They are everywhere you look. Like fireflies on a hot summer night.

Many businesses spend considerable time trying to create great customer service and customer experiences. Problem is they start their work on the complex side of the equation

Examples: Stunning Customer Service Lessons and Their Examples

And another important perspective from Seth:

People don’t believe what you tell them.

They rarely believe what you show them.

They often believe what their friends tell them.

They always believe what they tell themselves.

Seth Godin

“Your call is very important to us,” is not a true statement because it’s a promise not meant to be kept. The truth is self-evident. You’ll often say what you need to make customers go away.

“I promise I’ll tell my manager about this,” is of course not a real promise either. It might be uttered with good intent, or might be designed to get an annoying customer to go away, but still…

You can already guess the problem with little lies. They allow you to blur and then ultimately get you to cross the line, and they lead to bigger and bigger lies. The worst kind of little lies are the ones you make to yourself. Once you’re willing to lie to yourself, it’s all downhill.

So here are some great examples of poor customer service. The easy stuff, so to speak. The stuff your business needs to start with … to make sure no issues here. But while your business is working to build the great customer service … the little things are killing you.

We’ve all seen and heard these before:

Lack of empathy

Many employees are not engaged. And they don’t care.

Employees not empowered

Employees can’t act on their own to solve your problems.

Broken promises

Broken promises and no follow-up. No closure on what they tell you. Little lies that start to grow.

You answer questions

Customers get handed off and have to repeat the answers. Sometimes 3 or more times. Really annoying.

No menu option

Companies don’t have a menu option to talk with a real person. Until you have been through the wringer 3 times or more.

Long waits

Long waits on hold with a repeating recording telling you that the business will be with you momentarily.

Poor customer service by multiple handoffs

With many handoffs, you are beginning to wonder if everyone in the company is brand new. And knows little.

Customer survey requests

Too many multiple requests starting before you have ever had any service.

Very long time to get a response

No quick response either verbally via the phone or online chat.

Nowhere on the website to find information

Very difficult to find the information you assume it should be readily available.

Companies that refuse to break small promises have a much easier time keeping big promises. And they earn a reputation, one that makes their handshake worth more. Simple things are done right.

They make sure the little things are working well before they turn their attention to the more complex elements of service and experience.

Given that expectation and trust are just about all we have left to sell, it seems to us that little lies and small promises are at the very heart of the matter. And they’re a simple choice, nothing requiring an MBA or a spreadsheet. Just common sense.

If your customers know you will always focus on your needs then they will treat you accordingly and often will not trust you. You will not be a high priority for them because they are not a high priority for you.

But if they know you will always do right by them, they will treat you like someone they can trust. And they’ll come back more often.

Do you have a customer service experience to share with this community?

Need some help in building better customer service for your customers? Have you noticed the growing importance from customer service you provide, especially for your marketing? Creative ideas to help enhance your word of mouth marketing?

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your customer service improvement and pay for results.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas for your service to customers.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

More reading on customer service from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

How to Build Trust to Keep Customers Returning

Best Buy Lessons in Customer Service

Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.