This is NOT how Customer Service Works

Posted by jeffyablon under Customer Service
From http://answerguy.com 3713 days ago
Made Hot by: problogger78 on September 11, 2014 11:22 am

Customer Service requires carefully molded business process. Koeppel Nissan of Queens NY has no such process; thus Koeppel also has no customer service.

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Comments

Written by jeffyablon
3703 days ago

Heather, I say the answer is actually in your question (... weedhopper ... ).

The issue is simple, and the cycle is all too predictable. Businesses always start out seeing CS as a way to differentiate themselves and win business. Time passes, businesses become more successful, and the bean-counters take over. CS starts getting looked at as a drain on profits and resources that could be used in other ways. And WHOOOSH; the money gets reassigned. My favorite spin on this dates back to 2010: http://answerguy.com/2010/03/05/customer-services-work-yep-official/ . If you don't feel like clicking through, here's the summary: when customer service becomes a cost center instead of a business need, it starts going away.

So what do you do? YOU DON'T LET IT GO AWAY. Amazon (Zappos, really, but Amazon), and ... WalMart are the best two examples, if in very different ways. Amazon keeps putting the customer first. Every day, every step of the way. And laugh at WalMart being in that league, but they have a very simple business model: keeping prices absolutely as low as possible is ALL that matters. And their customers keep coming, and coming and coming.

Ultimately, customer service is a lot like love; there are lots of places where it's easy to convince yourself it isn't important, or working, or good enough for (whatever). And when you stop treating it like it matters, JUST BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE, it doesn't.

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Written by HeatherStone
3707 days ago

Jeff,

I think too many businesses still see customer service as an interruption to their process rather than a part of their business that needs a process. A shame because clearly in this instance -- and in many others -- the two are inextricably connected. So when you come to this realization in your own business, what's the best first step to fix the problem? Your take?

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