Sue’s BBQ (not their real name) was one of my favorite places to stop for authentic southern BBQ. That is, until Sue’s BBQ closed. The product was outstanding, and the presentation of the food was excellent. The menu was perfect for the local tastes, but the customer experience fell short of the same level.
While I don’t know all the reasons why Sue’s BBQ closed, here are 14 ways to ensure that Customer Experience does not lead to your business’s demise.
1. Bad attitudes
The attitude of customer experience and customer-facing support personnel can go a long way in making or breaking the ratings from customers. A positive attitude can generate a lot of good feedback, but a negative attitude can do damage to the brand that takes months or years to undo. A bad experience is hard to undo, and a bad first impression caused by a bad attitude is nearly impossible to correct.
2. Unhelpful staff
Having documentation, videos, or menus is a great way to help customers understand what’s available and what to do. However, these do not replace or eliminate the need to have helpful staff. When customers require clarity about their options, whether about features, installation, or utilizing the software, it is essential to provide clear and respectful support every step of the way.
3. Poor status updates
Timely updates on tickets, cases, and orders are essential parts of customer satisfaction. No one wants to order food and either wait hours or have to chase updates. The same is true in cases, support tickets, and customer calls; giving a clear and proactive update is not only helpful but expected.
4. Not listening
Listening is a skill required in all customer support and customer-facing scenarios. While it may seem simple to listen for the order of ribs vs the order of ribs and brisket, there is always more to listening than hearing the words. In customer support and customer experience, even the simplest scenarios require listening skills. Not listening to the customer’s spoken and unspoken needs and concerns can cause issues to unravel.
5. Lack of attention
Similar to poor status updates, failing to give proper attention to each client can be detrimental to the business. Multi-tasking and all of the trappings that go with splitting one’s focus ultimately hurt the experience. Be sure to be attentive to the customer and their needs, providing them with proper attention.
6. Lack of attention to detail
Lack of detail frequently leads to poor quality. Even excellent products can cause customer dissatisfaction if attention to detail is lacking during delivery, installation, or ongoing engagement. Examples include incorrect orders, unclear or mixed-up instructions, missing steps in provided solutions or knowledge base articles, confusion about case details, and issues with software licenses or account-related requests. These issues all stem from a failure to focus on the details.
7. Favoritism
My mother, a retired teacher, was asked if she had a favorite student. Her reply was masterful: “Yes, but each year, every one of the 25 students in my class always thought it was them.” Showing favoritism to clients to the detriment of others breeds confusion, frustration, and disappointment. As word travels, it also leads to the disappearance of customers.
8. Disrespect to customers
Respecting the customer is a top value of most companies, because the outcome of disrespect is never a good one. When a customer is disrespected, verbally or physically, that customer is highly unlikely to continue as a repeat customer. In addition, disrespect demonstrated to one customer will quickly cause concern among others who witness the interaction or hear about the experience online.
9. Poor use of technology
Technology is meant to aid with operations and the customer experience. However, when that technology gets in the way of the customer experience, it should be limited or eliminated. If your CRM does more harm than good, consider replacing it with something that is beneficial for harnessing the customer data in a mutually beneficial way.
10. Bad loyalty programs
Incentives for repeat customers, loyalty programs, and reward programs are often used to help increase customer satisfaction and retention. A good loyalty program should not be hard to use, difficult to understand, intrusive, or introduce the customer to endless spam texts, calls, and emails. Your loyalty program should encourage and improve the experience from both sides, not force your customers to change phone numbers and email addresses. Be sure that your program doesn’t make it impossible for users to get real value out of it.
11. Lack of process
If your organization employs more than one person in a customer-facing position, having a common process for the customer experience is key. When customers encounter different staff members who take them through different processes for orders, support, updates, or other actions, it can be annoying, to say the least. No customer wants to have Amazing Amanda on Monday and Disorganized Dan on Friday. Using processes and training can improve all aspects of the experience, no matter who is on call.
12. Lack of understanding
A leader in Customer Experience once shared some advice, “Always remember that your customer is not an expert in your product and dealing with you is not their main job.” Understand that your customer’s job or their goal is not to spend time on the phone, in line, or in a call queue. Their job is to bring systems online, help the company achieve its goals, increase revenue, improve security, and bring home dinner. Understanding and giving empathy to the customer is essential, and done well, it can improve your experience in multiple ways.
13. Terrible return/exchange policy
Having a return or exchange policy is a necessary part of most businesses. There are times when orders are placed incorrectly or items don’t fit the person (or in software, the use case). An inflexible return or exchange policy can create undue friction with the customer. The policies for returns and exchanges should match the situation and circumstances of delivery and help both parties involved in the process.
14. Poor manners
Interrupting the customer, using the wrong name, refusing to admit mistakes, not acknowledging the customer, and leaving the call (or the counter) without notification are examples of poor manners and can lead customers to feel undervalued. Other examples include:
- Interrupting while someone is speaking – This shows a lack of respect and attentiveness.
- Using a rude or dismissive tone makes others feel unwelcome or unimportant.
- Ignoring someone or failing to acknowledge their presence – Not greeting or responding to customers can come across as disinterest or rudeness.
- Improper attire – This can demonstrate both a lack of professionalism and a lack of respect for customers and coworkers.
- Poor hygiene – This can create discomfort for others and negatively affect how the company is perceived.
Poor manners can make customers feel that the business is unprepared, uncaring, and lacks the ability to service their needs consistently and at a high level.
Sue’s BBQ had an outstanding chef serving up some of the best BBQ in town. From miles away, the billows of smoke could be seen from the parking lot, and as you neared Sue’s BBQ, the smell of delicious food immediately invited you to take the left turn. But, once inside the restaurant, great food wasn’t the only thing being served. It has been two years since Sue’s BBQ sold their final plate, and I’m sure more transpired than just the poor service. Be sure that your customer experience team does not present these issues so that your products, services, or organization will not have the same fate as Sue’s BBQ.