We hear it repeated
several times each
week no matter who we
call, whether you want
to place a telephone
order or just wish to
chew the head off some
customer service
representative whose
firm’s product failed to
live up to its promises.

“Please listen carefully
as our menu options have recently changed.”

To demonstrate just how naïve I am I actually believed
those sincere voice recordings and listened patiently
to the various prompts which led to new menus and
new prompts, and eventually I was whisked half-way
around the globe to some far away customer service
outpost where representatives have had their names
changed to Chip and Deborah.

While sincere, polite and no doubt well intentioned, these
well-trained listeners exude unlimited empathy for the caller
but typically do not possess the necessary authority to right a
wrong.

So you’ve vented. The person on the other end of the phone
has not responded. You listen carefully to see if they’ve hung
up. Can you hear them breathing?

You’re confident you’ll never be welcomed as a tourist to
their country.

After a lengthy interval, their script instructs them to say “I
understand how you feel.”

To remedy the situation they assure you that they’ve made
an entry into their firm’s customer service computer and that
someone will be in contact with you in a day or two.

In case you think I’m exaggerating, try calling AT&T, Citibank
or a host of other companies that are outsourcing a variety of
internal departments that previously maintained a vital link
between these companies and their once valued customers.

So what does this mean for your small business?

Today’s historically high level of customer service
dissatisfaction represents a unique opportunity for your small
business to successfully differentiate itself from your
competitors who have chosen their bottom line over their
relationship with their customers.

When was the last time you thanked a customer for their
business?

When was the last time you offered to go above and beyond
for a customer that might be struggling in his or her own
small business?

When was the last time you asked a customer how you
might improve your business?

The number one reason for losing a customer is not price or
even quality, but rather indifference.

As a small business person be careful not to outsource your
commitment to your customers to someone else.
Outsourcing customer service turns once valued customers
into free-agents. EK