Top 6 Complaints In Customer Service

Customers contact customer service for different reasons: it can be to inquire about the product or service, report a problem, or  to resolve an issue.  Whatever their reason for calling, we need to ensure that our service meets or surpasses their expectations.  If they end up complaining about the customer service instead, this could seriously discourage them from continuing to patronize your product or support your company.   

1.  Lack of information on the website - Most customers expect self-service features available on the website to give them the option to resolve their issues on their own.  This is especially helpful when they don’t have the time to call customer service.  This way, they will only call customer support for urgent or critical concerns.

2.  Being put on hold and waiting on the line - When customers are put on hold especially for a long time, it takes up more of their time.  This can be even more frustrating for customers who are already calling to complain about a problem with your product.  If they will need to wait longer than usual, one thing representatives can do is to offer them the option of a callback instead and assure them that they will be contacted as promised.

3.  Being unable to talk to a representative - Despite our dependence on technology such as mobile apps, websites, and social media for issue resolution, there are times when we’d still prefer to speak with a representative, especially for urgent and critical issues.  It’s a good idea to provide more customer service channels for customers to choose from, but always make phone customer support available.

4.  Unpleasant representatives - Although issue resolution is the main goal for every customer interaction, you can strengthen your relationship with your customers if their experience was a positive one.  Conversely, customers will remember acutely if their representative was rude or sounded unfriendly and this could affect how loyal they will be to your brand.  Aside from the knowledge and skills to correctly handle the concerns of customers, representatives must be able to listen actively, respond sincerely and empathize with the customer’s feelings.

5.  Constantly being transferred to another representative - Whether representatives are unable to find information, or they lack the competence to take care of the issue, constantly transferring customers or routing them back to the IVR implies a problem with either your process or your training programs.  Make sure your representatives have been properly trained before interacting with customers and regularly evaluate your procedures and system tools to find ways to improve them.

You might also like: Outsource Customer Service to Turn Complaints to Compliments

6.  Needing to call more than once for a recurring issue - It’s not unexpected that issues will crop up about your product from time to time but these can become opportunities to improve your product and show customers your commitment using your after sales support.  If the same issue keeps happening to customers, however, this is likely to make them quit using your product or service.  For issues that require follow-up, make sure that representatives do contact customers again and follow through on action plans.  

Take steps to prevent these mistakes and you’ll be closer to ensuring a consistently positive experience for your customers.  If you’re thinking of delegating your customer support to a BPO service provider, Taking You Forward, a contact center company in the Philippines, offers high quality customer service, technical support, and sales among others.

Source: http://www.takingyouforward.com/blog/top-6-complaints-in-customer-service/

Publish Date: March 28, 2017 5:00 AM

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