True stories of poor customer service abound.
Email to customer from supplier of IT services: "We would like you to consider paying a fixed support fee of £150 per month instead of buying our services on an ad hoc basis."
Customer's reply to IT services supplier, sent one hour later: "Our records show that on average we pay less than £150 per month for your services so please explain the benefit of going to a fixed support fee."
IT services supplier's swift response to customer, sent minutes later: "We consider your response to be unreasonable. We offered you a fantastic deal and you turned it down, so our offer is now for a fee of £300 each month."
Yes, this really happened, in the course of an afternoon last week. No, the IT supplier is not a large, faceless corporation that can afford to upset people now and again. Both the customer and the supplier are small, owner-managed businesses. Needless to say, the customer is now considering sourcing an alternative support provider.
It's amazing how, even in a recession, businesses fail to understand the value of their customers or how to use communication technology effectively. In the situation I related above it's clear that the supplier wrote and sent their final message in haste and in anger.
Let this be a reminder to all of us - always pause before pressing the send button and consider how the customer will react. Because if you upset them you'll probably lose them, and if you lose too many you won't have a business at all.
A good tip to remember: use every engagement with a customer as a marketing opportunity.
