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Apparently, We Need to Talk About Customer Service, AGAIN!

March 29th, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

Follow this blog long enough you will see that customer/client service is a cornerstone of our business. There is nothing that takes the wind out of our sails more than a report from a client that they were dissatisfied with our service because of the conduct of our staff. It is easier to hear that equipment malfunctioned or that the lighting on the photos was bad than to be told that the issue was our staff being cranky or hard to deal with. It would be disingenuous of me to say it doesn’t happen to us, that we never get those calls, letters, emails, or texts, but, of course, we do. Granted, it doesn’t happen often but once in a blue moon is still far more than I’d like. When we get them, we take them seriously and address them with the staff that is involved. Lately though, there seems to be a rash of customer service issues across a number of industries. Here are just a few recent examples.

We have 2 very large dogs, who eat a lot. Our two hounds are in the neighborhood of 75 – 85 pounds each. As a result, we are frequent visitors to a pet store not too far from our house. It is rare that we escape for less than $100.00 in a visit. Lucky for us, they offer a loyalty card which is attached to my keyring that gets us free food after 10 or 12 bags purchased, and I use it every time I am in the store. Recently, I went into the store to buy food for our “boys.” Right above the bags of food was a sign saying that if I bought a 20 pound or larger bag of food, I get a free cup of a special kind of food. When I went to check out, I asked the cashier about the offer. She had no clue what I was talking about. After several minutes of trying to explain it to her I gave up, paid for my order, and left. The cashier could have either gone to the aisle where I told her the sign was, it was less than 50 feet away and I was the only customer in the store or ask another employee for help. It is highly doubtful the cashier thought they had done anything wrong or gave the matter a second thought.

Recently, I received a text from my primary care physician telling me that there was an issue with a referral that I had been given for a visit to a specialist. As many of you are aware, if you don’t get the referral to the insurance company you will be on the hook for a hefty bill. Immediately I picked up the phone and called the specialist, as I was instructed to do by the text. Their billing department had no idea what I was talking about. All my records and referrals were up to date, and I had a zero balance. Next stop was to my primary care’s office. As instructed, I went to the billing department and of course I got sent into voicemail hell and waited on hold for more than 20 minutes. When I finally spoke to a human being, they too had no clue what I was talking about, all records, referrals, and payments were completely up to date. Hanging up the phone I was more than frustrated but was still concerned that if I didn’t get a definitive resolution, I could be looking at a ridiculously large bill. Picked up my phone and called my doctors office again. Finally, got a hold of one of the members of the administration staff who looked through my records and found the referral. Yup, you guessed it, completely up to date. No apology just an “oh we must have overlooked this, don’t worry about it.” Wish that I had that information 45 minutes earlier. It has been my experience with a number of doctors over the years that they believe their time is far more valuable than yours and that attitude resonates down throughout their offices.

Airlines are back flying full or almost full planes and their service is back to pre-pandemic levels of awful. Their customer service has always amazed me. Years ago, I flew into Washington DC and the gate next to the one I was leaving from was in the beginning stages of boarding to Boston, my exact destination. It was clear from the limited number of people that were in the gate area that the flight was nowhere near full. All I had was a small carry on and a computer bag. I asked the gate attendant if the flight had space. She assured me there were a number of seats open. Could I get on that flight instead of the next one I asked? For a $75 change fee they would be happy to accommodate me. What if I went standby? Since I had a ticket on the later flight it would be the same $75.00. In other words, they were perfectly comfortable making me sit in the airport for an extra 90 minutes instead of getting home a bit earlier. Yet, they can have delays, cancellations, and unlimited changes and we have no recourse. Yes, they, like many other organizations, are shorthanded. However, their business model doesn’t seem to put customer satisfaction anywhere close to the top of the list. With crew and equipment shortages things seem to be getting worse.

Restaurants have been hit disproportionately hard. Now that they are open again, they can’t find help. Since in the early stages of COVID, they were shuttered completely and many lost longtime staff who simply couldn’t afford to ride the pandemic out in the hopes that their old jobs would reappear. Some places are managing it better than others. At some establishments, they prefer to have open tables, only allowing enough patrons to be seated that the kitchen or waitstaff can handle in a reasonable amount of time. Well run eateries are up front when people walk through the door, explaining to them that yes, they understand that there are a number of open tables, but they simply don’t have enough staff to provide a positive dining experience. Others seat people long before they should and deal with the consequences of a cranky diner leaving a poor review on Yelp or Trip Advisor and their staff being overtaxed trying to keep up.

Regardless of your business, always keep in mind what a business coach said in a recent podcast; you are in the people business. Your people are your product. As a result, a few tips:

1. Never take your staff or customers for granted.
2. Communication is key with both patrons and employees.
3. Many business owners are making the difficult choice to say no, a lot more often. In our small business, our staff will say that we rarely say no, but they don’t realize the number of requests that we receive that they never even know about. Sometimes saying no is in the best interest of the consumer and the business.
4. If you are wrong, apologize.
5. Remember the customer is not always right, but they always need to be heard and feel that they are heard.
6. Customer service training is ongoing. As situations and the needs of your customers change, you need to ensure that your staff is meeting those needs.
7. Recognize those in your organization that excel at service.

About the author:

Ken Abrahams hates poor service. It is something that will cause him to drop a vendor pretty quickly. FUN Enterprises works on customer service periodically throughout the year. We hope it shows.

To find out more about the company go to our website www.funent.com you can also go to this link to sign up for our newsletter which comes out about 6 times a year https://funent.com/subscribe-to-the-funny-pages/.  Our newsletter will tell you more about the company and the products and services we offer as well as some games, things to do and the occasional cooking tip.