Customer service is what many small to medium sized companies fail to properly understand and implement. Jeffrey W. Lupient, CEO of Lupient Automotive Group, recently talked about that and highlighted some really important reasons why customer service mistakes can actually destroy a business. A mistake can always go viral and if you have bad policies, your customers are going to make you pay for it. What you should always remember, based on the high experience of Jeff Lupient, is the following:
Word Of Mouth Will Destroy Businesses
This is definitely not new in management and every single manager knows that when word-of-mouth is bad for a business, huge problems will appear. What Jeff Lupient MN adds is that the approach is what differs now a lot when compared to the past. In the past people talked with friends and family members. Nowadays, they go online. They use social media and write reviews on websites like Yelp or Trust Pilot. Because of this, many business owners end up not even knowing that bad customer service is destroying the business. It is always important to have strong policies in place that do talk about these subjects.
Insulting Customers
Jeff Lupient highlight that not insulting customers is a rule that is always known but that might not be respected without management being aware of. There are numerous employees and businesses that appear to be professional but that simply forget about courtesy.
There are different cases in which store managers insult or take the side of employees that insult customers. Even one such incident can lead to a flurry through social media. Refusing to service some customers because of reasons like race or weight, for instance, can easily lead to a PR nightmare and much lower sales than what could be present.
Not Caring About Long Time Customers
This is one mistake that happens because businesses get used to having some customers that keep coming back. In an attempt to get as many new clients as possible, businesses can forget about those that make up most of the current sales.
For instance, the New York Times upset it subscribers when it mailed a special discount to the entire customer base when the deal was only supposed to be offered to 300 subscribers that recently canceled their subscription. The long time NY Times subscribers were upset of the fact they do not receive the same perks and privileges that others get. Even if the publication apologized, sales did end up dropping.
Setting Wrong Expectations
Jeffrey Lupient’s last important advice offered was about the expectations set forth by customer service policies. A customer expects different things from companies based on the past experiences they had or due to similar experiences with other businesses.
For instance, a really common mistake is to offer a specific discount without having the stock needed to give that deal to all people that would be interested. Best Buy was guilty of this at one point for a Christmas discounts campaign they had. You have to be sure you always set realistic expectations and when you offer something you have to be 100% confident it will be delivered.