7 Deadly Sins of Poor Customer Service

I've been an Earthlink customer for about 2 years.  They, in combination with Time Warner Cable who actually services the cable for them, have the monopoly in my area of NYC.  To be honest, I'd much rather use Cablevision, but I'm not in their "service area", so here I am.

Over the past 6-8 months or so, I've had some problems with my email.  Periodically, emails that are sent to me are taking anywhere from several hours to days to get to me, and some are being returned to the senders as undeliverable.

I've spoken with at least 6 different people at Earthlink in the past couple of weeks and despite their promises, the problems continue.

To make matters worse, several of the representatives have promised me that they would get back to me, and haven't.  They have told me that the problem has been corrected, but it has not.

I also found out today, that the level "2" support staff only consists of 3 people!  How dare an ISP be allowed to operate with a monopoly in a given area when they're so understaffed!

Just as an aside, several representatives have asked for my phone number as a way of identifying my account, and when I give it, they have the wrong customer's information connected to it.  They've also promised to fix this...

Each time I contact them, I wait on hold for a ridiculous amount of time, only to find that the person I'm speaking to has to send me to another person, and so on.

I tell you this story for two reasons.  One is to vent.  The other is to pinpoint how companies hurt their own reputations every single day.

I'm sure that my story must sound familiar to you, since this type of behavior is all too common when dealing with tech companies and public utilities.

Unfortunately, smaller companies make these type of mistakes too, every single day. But the risk to smaller firms is even greater.  With a smaller pool of customers, and no monopoly, every customer is precious.

Is your company committing any of these 7 deadly customer service sins?

1. Long hold times.
2. Poorly trained representatives.
3. Lack of follow-through.
4. Non-responsiveness to calls and emails.
5. Making promises you can't keep.
6. Technical support that isn't equipped to resolve problems.
7. In-adequate amount of staff to handle problems.

So thanks for letting me vent, but please think seriously about what kind of customer service your company delivers, it can make or break your reputation.

-Susan Martin, nyc business coach

Even more on hiring well...

I've written quite a bit about hiring, and was interested to see a post by Olivier Blanchard on the Brand Builder Blog entitled "Be Great or Go Home" where he rants a bit about his ex-doctor (and others) who don't do the right job and aren't thorough enough.  The crux of this post as it pertains to hiring is summed up below, food for thought, whether you're hiring an employee, consultant, customer service people or anyone else:

"...So my advice today is this: When hiring a lawyer, doctor, project manager, salesperson or marketing exec., make sure to ask them about their process. Throw hypotheticals at them. Ask them how they start a project. Ask them how they set goals. Ask them how they manage their time. Ask them how they respond to unexpected problems.

Find out if they have the work ethic to be thorough... or if they don't.

Find out upfront rather than... later."

Read the entire post here.

-Susan Martin, nyc management coach

More on Leadership Behaviors

In January, I wrote about "Leadership Behaviors" which tracked back to a post by Lance Secretan about a recent study by a Florida State University Professor that found that employees don't leave companies, they leave bosses...

I happened upon a post by Olivier Blanchard, on his Brand Builder blog which comes to the same conclusion, here's what Olivier had to say:

"I was browsing Upstate Magnet yesterday (a small local business publication), and came up on this great little one-page article written by Jack Smalley (SPHR with Express Personnel).

Having seen top performers leave organizations time and time again, Jack's points seemed sadly familiar. I have encountered them all myself, and I have to admit that each one of these can consitute a good reason for even the most talented, hard-working employee or manager to go seek greener pastures. Combine any two or three - or all five - and you can expect to spend a whole lot of your HR department's time searching and hiring top talent to replace the folks you weren't savvy enough to hold on to in the first place.

Olivier goes on to tell us about "six things your company may be doing to chase away top talent: (go to full article for details)

1. There is no link between pay and performance

2. They don't perceive advancement opportunities

3. Their contributions are not recognized

4. Management has unclear or unrealistic expectations

5. They will no longer tolerate abusive managers

6. Constant reorganization of management   

And adds:

"As an aside -
Typical traits of lousy managers:

- Excessive demands & personal sacrifices.- Placing their department in a continual state of crisis.
- A demand for employees to be available at all hours.
- Setting unreasonable deadlines.
- Pony Express management style (Ride 'em till they drop), causing burnout, stress and depression in their people.
- Risk-aversion.
- Abusive treatment of employees.
- Being too busy to make themselves helpful.
- Acting annoyed at requests for help, advice or insight.
- Nepotism.
- Making last-minute unilateral decisions that make absolutely no sense.
- "Big Stick" management. (Screw up, and I will hit you over the head with the big stick.)
- A complete lack of trustworthiness

One of the conclusions from the article was as simple as it was astute, and it is this:

Most employees don't quit their jobs. They quit their managers.

That's pretty powerful... and absolutely correct.

I know it's pretty obvious for many of you, but it is well worth bringing up from time to time."

When will people in management start to realize the implications of their behavior?

-Susan Martin, Business and Leadership Coach       

Hiring Well

Many business owners have trouble finding great employees because they don't focus in on the qualities and characteristics that they really need.  Without knowing and asking for what you need, it's hard to get the kind of employees that will help your business to thrive.

John Moore of "Brand Autopsy" a "leading practitioner in the arts of customer service and marketing" writes about Enterprise Rent a Car, who "are renowned for delivering great customer experiences in the highly-commodified rental car business."  Read John's post.

"Part of the reason Enterprise is viewed as (a) strong customer service-focused business is they hire well. According to the recently published book, EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS, when it comes to hiring employees, Enterprise “… doesn’t want people who merely seek to be behind the rental counter. It wants every candidate to aspire to greatness.” ...

...To help identify high potential candidates, Enterprise uses an eight-point Critical Customer Service Skills checklist to determine which candidates are mostly likely to be Enterprise employee material. It’s a worthwhile list for any customer service-focused business to plug ‘n play into their hiring practices.

---

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR
Critical Customer Service Skills

1. A passion for taking care of customers.
2. A willingness to be flexible.
3. A work ethic based on dedication to the company and its mission.
4. An eagerness to learn a new business and work their way up.
5. Self-motivation and goal-orientation.
6. Persuasive sales skills.
7. Excellent communication skills.
8. Leadership ability.

Source | EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS (Kirk Kazanjian) "

What are the critical skills that your employees must have?

-Susan Martin, NYC Business Coach and customer service advocate

Dealing with a difficult boss

A recent article by my friend and colleague Career Coach Dale Kurow, entitled "Dealing With A Difficult Boss" is geared toward employees; but has some great insights into dealing with customers, partners and other difficult people as well.

Dale talks specifically about "screamers" and "hypocrites" and give some great tips about how to handle them:

The Screamer: "Learn to judge the best times to approach her. Tone of voice, body language, time of day, all these hold signs of her emotional barometer. That’s the key to getting what you need and avoiding many of her outbursts..."

The Hypocrite who is prone to mood swings: " Whether things are good or bad, you need to control how you respond and not join your boss on his emotional rollercoaster. Be patient and professional at all times. Use a “charge neutral” voice, an even, unemotional tone..."

Read the entire article here.  (You'll have to scroll down to the featured article)

-Susan Martin, NYC Business and Leadership Coach

Leadership behavior

I often hear clients complain about their employees and many of these complaints are justified, some employees just don't care, lack judgement, have no sense of urgency, are lazy...

But employee's attitudes aren't the only thing at play here, like all human beings, they react to the way they are treated. 

Unfortunately, not all bosses treat their employees with the basic respect all people deserve.

Bosses and managers can inspire and motivate their employees, or scare them away, depending upon what types of leadership behaviors they exibit.

A recent study by a Florida State University Professor Wayne Hochwarter, associate professor of management in their College of Business found that employees don't leave companies, they leave bosses; primarily because they have:

• Given them the "silent treatment"
• Failed to keep promises
• Haven't given credit when due
• Spoken negatively about employees to others
• Or, blamed others for mistakes they've made

Lance Secretan hit the nail on the head when responding to this study in his recent post:

"...I have been astounded by the number of leaders who use leadership behaviors that demoralize, are abusive or dishonoring, and counterproductive. It astounds me, even after all these years, how few choose to lead in a way that inspires." read more...

What types of leadership behaviors exist in your company? 

-Susan Martin, NYC Business and Leadership Coach