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Customer Service Information |
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Sending Mixed Signals Can Send Your Clients Away
I call it the "wave and roll." You walk up to an intersection. You look both ways before you cross when you make eye contact with an oncoming vehicle. You meet the gaze of the driver. Politely and legally, he invites you to cross first. As you enter the crosswalk, you notice that he continues rolling toward the intersection with no reduction in speed. How safe do you feel? Your clients-remember those who you are supposed to protect-have a similar experience when you send them incongruous messages. Step into their shoes for a minute. Do you remember the last time you were frustrated with the service you received? Did they promise the moon and then delivery nothing but dust? Recently, I ordered a new pair of prescription eyeglasses. The optician told me, "We will do anything to earn your business." At this point you might be saying to me, let the buyer beware. And if you did, you would have a good point. I was told the glasses would be ready in a week. They were not. I was told another week, but still no glasses. "We will do anything to earn your business," was replaced with, "It is not our fault." Since they used outside vendors to perform the work, my optician asserted he had no control over the lab they outsourced the job to. Rather than addressing the problem-and the broken promise-the optician offered me a new target for my ill will and disappointment, the lab. Plausible deniability may work in presidential politics, but regardless of who was at "fault," I was out a pair of glasses and the words on the computer screen were getting mighty blurry. A client was unprotected. Coincidently, an acquaintance in another industry had recently shared his reason for outsourcing what was once an internal function. "So that my customers will not get mad at me." A sentiment apparently shared by my optician. Shouldn't the emphasis be on keeping the client from getting mad as opposed to getting mad at you? Eventually, I got my glasses. But, my optician lost a repeat customer. And now I am sharing their poor example of customer service with you to illustrate how you can better keep your clients happy, well served, and protected. To ensure you do not send mixed signals, I will leave you with three considerations. First, align yourself with your clients. Regard them as partners. Your job is to meet your clients' needs, to protect them. If not, then what purpose does your business serve? Look for opportunities to advocate for your clients interests, especially those for which they contracted you. Recall that my optician claimed they had no control; that the delay in getting my glasses was not their fault. Specialization-as in one business sells the glasses, another makes them-fosters interdependence. I imagine most of you rely on outsourcing relationships to serve your clients. Outsourcing does not abdicate you of your responsibility to your clients, certainly not in their eyes. My optician may have had a lack of control, but in a business relationship no one is without influence. How likely do you think it is that some accommodation could have been made between parties to diminish the client's pain? This is where you look for opportunities to demonstrate your care for the customer. Get creative! Find solutions and make them happen! Let the client know what you are doing on their behalf. Even if you are unsuccessful, or just moderately successful, your efforts will make a difference. It might not win the client over, but it will definitely improve your odds. Second, welcome all feedback, especially complaints. A complaining client is a wonderful thing to behold. Complaining to you means the client still maintains a vested interest in seeing the relationship improve. A complaint represents an opportunity to repair the service. How do you react to complaints? What goes on emotionally for you when a customer complains? Do you empathize with their pain, marshaling your own resourcefulness to resolve the problem? Or, do you feel embarrassed or threatened, exposed or unsafe? If you regard complaints as threats, you position yourself against your client, rather than with them. Advocating for your client requires you to be open and vulnerable with them. There's no room for self-protection if you want to keep your clients happy. Third and finally, align your policies and processes to support your clients. Question the purpose and impact of the rules you work by. Do they support customers or do they provide for your convenience, profit, or protection. Convenience, profit, and protection are important. But if those purposes are cross with your clients needs, reevaluation is in order. Align with your customers. Do what you say, say what you do. Be grateful and thankful for client complaints. Make sure your policies support your clients. When a service breakdown does occur, you will feel less like you are about to be hit by a car. And more importantly, so will your client. REPUBLISHING PERMISSION: You are welcome to download or reprint this article so long as you include my byline and copyright at the end of each piece with a live weblink. Please forward publication specifics to http://www.JeffSimon-Consulting.com/ The attribution should read: "By Jeff Simon of Jeff Simon Consulting, The Client Retention Specialists. Are you having trouble keeping your best clients? Please visit Jeff's website at http://www.JeffSimon-Consulting.com/ for additional articles and resources for keeping your best clients."
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union Consumers Demand Enterprises Modernize to Improve Ailing Customer Experience, Says Research Business Wire American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan How banks can build consumer confidence with stellar customer service Insights by Samsung Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercom’s Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic |
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