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Hi There! This is Shep Hyken Customer Service and Experience Expert and on this video I'm
sharing five ways to lose your customers. Want to lose your customer? Deliver a bad
customer service experience. And it doesn't really have to be that bad. Sure, if it's
flat out abysmally terrible customer service you'll most likely lose the customer, but
sometimes it's much less obvious. It can be an attitude of indifference. So, let's get
specific. Here are very specific five ways that are guaranteed to make your customers
question if they made a good decision to do business with you.
Number One: Don't acknowledge the customer. Ever walk into a store and see employees standing
around. They are paying attention to everyone except for you, the customer. I remember checking
into a hotel years ago. I walked up to the front desk with a heavy suitcase in tow, and
the clerk was typing away on his computer. After about 30 seconds, which by the way seemed
like much longer, the clerk looked up at me and said, "I'll be right with you." About
a minute or so later he looked up at me and asked, "Are you here to check in?" I was nice,
but I wanted to say, "What do you think?" Number 2: Don't care about the customer. There's
an expression that is attributed to John Maxwell that says, "People don't care how much you
know until they know how much you care." If there is one important part of customer service,
it is that you care -- and the customer knows it. Apathy kills the relationship and true
caring and concern for the customer trumps all.
Number 3: Don't listen to the customer. Customers want to be heard, and equally as important,
understood. It's one thing to make an error on an invoice. It may irritate the customer
a bit to have to call and spend time getting it resolved. But if you have a problem that
is due to a breakdown in communication, well that is the worst Moment of Misery you can
have with your customer. The customer will say, "I don't like doing business with them.
They just don't listen and understand me." Number 4: Don't respond to the customer. It
is so frustrating to leave a message on the phone, send an email or a Tweet, and get no
response. A bad customer service situation gets worse when the company doesn't respond
to the complaint or problem. Number 5: Don't appreciate the customer. A
fundamental need of most, if not all people is to feel appreciated. Customers want to
be appreciated for spending their hard-earned money at your place of business. So say, "Thank
you!" Send a thank you note or an email. Let your customers know you appreciate them.
So, now I've given you five. How about sharing what you would add to this list. Well, I hope
you enjoyed this short lesson. Please be sure to visit my website, which is www.hyken.com.
There you'll find more information about my speaking programs, as well as over 250 customer
service articles that you can read and share with your colleagues. Thank you very much
for watching. This is Shep Hyken, reminding you, to Always Be Amazing.