Ask yourself, my friend: is customer service your top priority? Or do you struggle with negative reviews because you’re making these customer service mistakes?
Whatever the answer, learn from these mishaps so you become a people pleaser (and a successful business owner to boot).
1. You Are Slow to Respond to Customers
You may have chat, email, and a customer service hotline, but if you make customers wait minutes, hours, or — heaven forbid — days, you’re only fueling the fire.
A customer who might have had only a question to start with may get more and more incensed the longer it takes her to get it answered. By the end, she’s steaming and ready to tell the world what she thinks of your brand.
Simply being proactive about monitoring your customer service channels is all it takes to dodge one of the most avoidable customer service mistakes.
If you are strapped for time, hire a part-time employee to handle customer service requests so you’re on top of them.
2. You Don’t Nurture the Quiet Customers
You may spend all of your time putting out those fires listed in #1 that you don’t pay attention to those customers who aren’t demanding your attention, but you should.
Just because you don’t get a complaint from them doesn’t mean they’re happy. Some customers will put up with — for example — a faulty product, and not say anything unless prodded.
These are ticking time bombs.
They might never tell you about the issue and then one day head to Yelp or other online review site and then verbally spew what’s on their mind.
Always follow up with all customers. A quick note asking if their order was to their expectations or a simple survey is all it takes to get feedback that not only lets you take the pulse of your customers but also gives you guidance on what you need to improve in your company.
3. You Refuse to Take the Blame
There’s a reason the old adage, “the customer is always right” is so quoted: it’s a good rule to live by. Sure, some customers are wrong, but it’s a major customer service mistake to point the finger at them.
Doing so, especially in a public forum like an online review channel, will only make your company look bad.
Whatever the issue, take the fall. Apologize, and then work to remedy the situation. Even if that customer never buys from you again, others will see how you worked to make her happy, and that will put you in a positive light with future customers.
4. Your Quality Control Is Lacking
Maybe you recently switched suppliers, and the new product you’re selling isn’t as great as the old product. Maybe you’ve gotten so busy you can’t double-check every single order.
Whatever the cause for your lack of quality control, it’s affecting your business. Customers are irate because their product breaks, they get the wrong order, et cetera.
In general, it’s great that your ecommerce business is growing, but you need to be sure you’re ready for the changes that growth brings.
Hiring extra help is one way to ensure someone is reviewing each order and double-checking that it’s fulfilled correctly.
Spending more time with the actual product and looking for potential flaws is another. Whatever you do, just nip the problem in the bud so that customers don’t start complaining publicly.