Customer Service: 2009 Hall of Shame

Earlier, I have posted about Customer Service Hall of Shame survey in 2008. Recently, I found that 2009 survey results were released in June. Somehow, I missed the article that time, but nonetheless found it very interesting when I read it eventually. Providing an efficient and reliable Customer Service is of utmost importance to run a successful business. And surprisingly, so many companies fail to do so, again & again & again.

"How a company handles adversity can tell you a lot about its character. Does it stick to its guns, keeping the customer first? Or does it stick it to customers, raising prices and cutting service?

The recent economic turmoil has given companies a chance to prove their mettle. But many, particularly in the hard-hit financial-services industry, have failed to do so."

9 of these companies have featured in the top 10 listing of this survey in 2008. And despite their efforts to improve their customer service in reaction to such surveys, they still make it there. Now what is so challenging about improving customer service.

In my opinion, customer service is actually a very complex process to improve. Inherently, it is intangible and difficult to quantify issue. One can certainly weave a problem statement around "issue resolution time", "time of hold", "number of calls", "number of issues resolved in a certain amount of time", or what not. But the problem is that none of these measurements directly correlate to "customer satisfaction".

An efficient and great customer service is not just limited to "politely talking", "logging the issue", or "directing the call to a department". It is in fact, a function of a set of good communication skills, technical knowledge of product/service, an understanding of people's feelings, & the dynamics which come into play when an irate customer calls the customer service.