When we have an extremely positive customer support experience, we remember it. Sometimes, we even brag about it. Think about a time when a customer service agent offered you a free gift card for your troubles, or a flight attendant upgraded you to first class for no reason at all. You can search Twitter right now for stories of people who just experienced a great customer service experience. In fact, here’s one:
“Shout out to Steph and Karen, Customer Service @united who took time to help reroute us, very much appreciated. Great support personnel!â€
Every company wants that kind of love from customers. So why aren’t they getting it? It’s certainly not for lack of trying. Even companies who are knocked for their poor customer service have programs and processes in place. Quite often the issue lies in the underlying customer support management software. It gets in the way and prevents customer support agents from providing the level of support customers expect.
When Poor Customer Service Costs Money
It’s the goal of every business to try and be nimble, but the more they grow, the tougher that becomes. And if they’re using a customer support software solution that can’t adapt to changes in the business, support tends to suffer as a result. Customers are sent to agents who don’t know how to resolve their concern, or the agent they get will only respond with ineffective canned responses. Customers don’t like this, and the longer they have to wait for a resolution, the more dissatisfied they’ll become.
Unfortunately, there are consequences to poor customer support experiences. Customers complain. They don’t get the service they want from a low-level agent, so they escalate their complaints to supervisors. This costs time and money, because both the agent and the supervisor are unable to help other customers.
If they still don’t get the service they want, they take their complaints online and let the world know what a bad experience they had with a particular company’s customer service department. This is how poor reputations start to develop. When enough people share similar stories, the world puts together a pattern and a company is branded as being anti-consumer. The stain is tough to get out.
Should the customer’s issue not be resolved at all, they’ll more often than not take the most obvious choice in front of them: vote with their wallets. They’ll take their business elsewhere, and suddenly, that company has one less customer.
How Better Software Improves Customer Service
A good customer support software solution is both efficient and organized. It sends customers to the right people with the right solution. It doesn’t make customers wait.
It also adapts to change. Shifts in product offerings, or the way certain features work, are quickly reflected in the system so agents can provide accurate answers and resolve issues promptly. Change includes extenuating circumstances. Sometimes a customer service agent needs to make a judgment call in order to satisfy the customer — the kind you don’t find in an employee guidebook. Agents need the autonomy to make those calls, and a good software solution can provide it to them.
Good service creates happier customers. It’s almost a universal truth at this point. It’s why you hear consumers rave about companies known for their great service. It’s why you hear consumers complain about companies not living up to a certain standard of quality. Your business should always aim to stay on the good side of your customers. Blow them away with outstanding customer service, and even if you mess up occasionally, they’ll forgive you.
Learn more about how you can implement software to help improve your company’s customer service by calling PhaseWare today. Our team of professionals have a mixture of business, technical, operational and software development experience to help your company in any facet of business.