Whether you want to admit it or not, your business makes mistakes. Maybe the quality of your work wasn’t good (just one time, of course). Perhaps, your billing was incorrect and your customer was
charged too much. Maybe, a job took too long, or there was something wrong with a product you sold your customer.
These things happen to every business. And statistics show all of these things are forgiveable. Your customer will forget about any billing dispute, most quality issues and pretty much everything else you throw at them.
But, statistics show they will not forgive you for bad customer service.
Bad customer service is the unpardonable sin. Your customer simply won’t forget it. Here’s a stunning statistic that demonstrates this:
86% of people say they’ve stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) – Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report
Think about that! Almost 90% of the time customers will not return if they’ve had a bad customer service experience. Wow!
What I want to figure out is this: why will a customer leave you because of bad customer service and not because of other mistakes your business may make?
Here is the answer:
Customer service is personal. A billing dispute isn’t personal. A missed appointment isn’t personal. A dirty hotel room isn’t personal. Neither is a shoddy job.
But, customer service is VERY personal.
If a customer is treated poorly by you or your employees they will not forget it. They have been personally offended. You have made the customer feel dumb, disrespected or angry. They’ve been frustrated and upset. They won’t forget it.
That is why, 86% of the time, they won’t return.
About the Author
Kip Kint is the Director of Training and Development at ContactPoint. ContactPoint is a technology company offering tools that score and record customer service and sales conversations. Call scoring allows businesses to measure real improvement. ContactPoint also offers world class customer service training and coaching. To learn more about ContactPoint visit www.contactpoint.com.
Great article Kip! That really is a stunning statistic. Like you said, almost 9 out of 10 times people will not return if they feel offended by someone in person. That’s astounding! That really makes me want to make sure EVERY customer experience is EXCEPTIONAL! Thanks for this eye opener!
@David – you’re right, there really is no room for error when you don’t get a second chance.
One experience is often all it takes so it’s so important to really take the time to make the customer feel like they are the most important person you are dealing with. I know that there have been times that one bad experience was all it took for me to take off from a company and never go back.
@Brianne – the trick is to get your front line employees to treat each interaction with the same importance and care that these statistics indicate we should.
I’m not sure it’s because customer service is personal. Missing an appointment can feel just as personal as bad customer service.
But customer service is instead how you deal with problem (and areas of weakness in your company). Good customer service shows that problems can be fixed and that it’s not hard. Bad customer service shows that problems can’t be fixed or aren’t worth the effort.
It’s not that I feel like you personally slighted me. It’s that I know that in the future if I have any problems it will get resolved easily or it won’t. Who wants to keep doing business with a company that’s difficult to deal with?
@Jeff – thanks for bringing up the point that fixing the problem is a key customer service requirement. Customer service becomes extremely personal when things go bad. In these problem situations, long term customer loyalty hinges on how the employee empathizes with the customer and effectively resolves the issue.
Good post! I definitely agree that customer service is personal when it goes bad. I feel that customers remember bad customer service experiences a lot easier that good ones.
Chris
@Chris – we tend to take good service for granted unless it stands out for its exceptional circumstances. Bad service typically makes better stories for sharing with friends and that helps it stick around in our memory all that much longer.
That is pretty staggering. To think almost 90% of people leave after just one bad experience really puts the pressure on businesses to provide incredible customer service. Great post! I will tweet this and definitely use this info…thanks!
Great piece! Retaining customers calls for creating a culture where service is the number one priority. Here’s a video that can help newcomers to service learn what it really takes:
http://www.upyourservice.com/video-theater/how-do-you-build-and-sustain-a-superior-service-culture
You are totally right here! If only more firms were more concerned about that! As a customer it’s always a deception and a nightmare when we have a big issue with an order and no help to handle this!
When a customer starts thinking “this is a nightmare”, you know getting repeat business will be a challenge if not impossibility.