Five Ways to Avoid Seeing Your Bad Customer Service on Social Media

TORONTO - Oct. 1, 2013 - PRLog -- Toronto, ON We’ve all seen the photos and memes generated by rude receipts, passive aggressive notes and just plain bad service floating across the internet (the infamous Fed-ex monitor fiasco is still amazing http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/fedex-delivery-man_n_1162743.html? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/fedex-delivery-man_n_1162743.html)). So why are so many companies still doing the wrong things when it comes to the customer experience?

Business strategist Sandy Richardson says it’s because too many businesses still don’t understand what the components of a good customer experience are, and that’s what costs them business.

“I see the same mistakes time and time again, and it always amazes me how such a simple thing isn't a part of the goals of every business owner and manager. They don’t realize that every interaction with a customer can end up appearing on social media, resulting in a crisis that no one intended. Creating a good customer experience isn’t as much about the product you provide them as it is about making the customer feel the way they want to feel. What differentiates one company from another in a competitive marketplace is the emotional, rather than functional, attributes of the company’s products or services,” says Richardson, whose new book Business Results Revolution discusses critical aspects of business performance.

These five simple tips can help make or break your customer experience:

1) Acknowledge the customer when they enter your premises. Make them feel important and that you care about them. Let them know that they aren’t just a person to launch a sales pitch on. Something as simple as a nod, or a smile and eye contact (especially if you are busy with another customer) lets people know that they are appreciated.

2) Cut down the stress for them. Deliver on time or when promised, make sure the products are complete, make it easy for them to find something, answer their questions in a reasonable time, and offer to help them out at every stage of a purchase. Respect their time and yours.

3) Recognize frustrating situations and deal with them immediately in a professional manner. In a retail situation customers dislike long lines and waiting for service. If you have the manpower, pull people off the floor and get them to help thin out those lines a bit. Customers appreciate it when you recognize their state of mind and help ease their growing frustration.

4) Avoid disappointing customers by making sure that their needs are being met. If you can’t satisfy their needs, give them alternatives. If you can’t solve their problem at least deal with their dissatisfaction head-on by taking the time to acknowledge how they feel and apologizing. It will be the difference between a person walking away empty-handed and disappointed, and one who walks away empty-handed but feels understood.

5) Stop hurrying them. Nothing is worse than feeling rushed during a transaction, especially when technology is involved. Take the time to go at the customers’ speed rather than yours, and take the time to listen. If you don’t take these steps, they'll feel rushed and uncomfortable, and even though they may have purchased from you, they won’t be happy.

Says Richardson, “It’s time to stop turning off your customers and start building brand loyalty. Each customer is unique and there are a lot of variables that you simply can’t control when it comes to client satisfaction. But there are many aspects of their experience that you can control, and not doing them will cost you money.”

To learn more about Sandy and her new book Business Results Revolution visit http://businessresultsrevolution.com/ (https://www.mailoutinteractive.com/Industry/Redirect.aspx...)

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