In many companies customer service is a department, someone you call when you have a problem or a concern or when something isn’t working.  At times situations occur that make it difficult for a company to meet the expectation of the customer. 

For instance, a supplier fails to deliver the products that have been ordered on time. At times there is a surge in demand and the onslaught of work proves difficult for the existing workforce to meet those demands.  Whatever the reasons, the impact on customer service is undeniable.

While these types of situations aren’t always in your control, you must take ownership of the problem, even if it’s not directly your fault.  It is incumbent on leadership to train everyone who interfaces with the public how to effectively work with customers, especially when they are upset.  If you don’t, and they don’t then you will never be able to build customer relationships of trust and confidence. 

While such situations aren’t always in your control, you must take ownership of the problem, even if it’s not directly your fault. It might be your employee’s fault, but those workers were hired and trained by you so the onus lies on you. Besides, these problems and excuses will not bode well with your customers with whom you need to build a relationship of confidence and trust.

The reason everyone hates customer service is because of excuse making.  Here are a list of lame excuses customers are tired of hearing:

“I don’t know…”

Customers don’t want to listen to this excuse unless you follow up saying that you will be happy to help them find out the answer. Finding out things, and explaining them to customers is part of customer service. This is basic.

 “Management doesn’t allow…” or “It’s not in our policy to…”

Yes, customers know that a business has limitations regarding what it can allow or not. But if you can’t do something for them, it’s better to just come out and say it. Then apologize. Don’t hide behind a policy. Think of this as an exercise in improving your customer service and communication skills.

“I’m sorry you’ve had this problem, but there is nothing I can do about it”

WHAT??? Why apologize if there is nothing you can do anyhow.  No one wants to hear your apology, which comes across as insincere without a follow-up solution. 

“That is handled by….”

Basically passing the buck to another department, vendor or person.  They don’t help you get in touch with someone who can help, they just tell you they can’t and it’s not their problem or responsibility.

“Have you….”

When you call for technical support and they ask you if your computer is turned on,  if your modem is plugged in or have you checked the batteries in your remote…like you’re an idiot.  I understand not everyone is tech savvy but give me a break!

“You’re on hold for not minutes but hours”

Everyone understands that wait times can be long but long is 15 or 20 minutes.  Last week I called for support and was told it would be 338 minutes…yes that’s correct 338 minutes.

“Your told to look on the internet first or talk via chat”

Doesn’t help if you don’t have access to the Internet but let’s set that aside.  Yesterday I was on chat support, who after 15 minutes of working with me said they couldn’t help me and I’d have to call back to speak to someone.  Why didn’t they know this a minute or two into the call.

“Your warranty or guarantee expired…yesterday so we can’t help”

I had a compressor in my freezer die one day out of warranty.  I realize that companies can’t offer replacement or service for free forever, but come on…one day. 

“Who were you talking to last time?”

What is it to them who they talked to? Do you really expect customers to remember the name of the person they dealt with? No, because they’re too busy worrying about the problem they came to you to solve!

“If you look at the fine print…”

Really, fine print? Who reads that? Yes, it’s probably the customer’s fault for not reading it. But guess what, it’s a mark of poor customer service on your part for not explaining it to them!

“Bob was supposed to do this…”

Don’t play the blame game with your customers. It reflects badly on your organization.  Whether Bob did it or not, whatever happened, really, remember that your customer isn’t interested in the inside story. They just want their problems solved.

I’m sure you have your own list of what you hear that sets your teeth on edge.

AND, If there’s something you can do, do it.  Frankly there is always something you can do about it, even if you personally can’t solve the situation. 

1. 1. Check the records of the customer while they are on the phone so you can speak to them intelligently about their situation.
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3. 2. Determine what if anything has already been done.  Maybe a refund is in process or it’s been sent off to another department for resolution but the customer doesn’t know this. Find out and tell them, and provide specific information on who is handling, when the refund was processed etc.  If nothing has been done take it upon yourself to handle.
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5. 3. You may not be able to solve the problem but you can help the customer feel like someone cares.  Either put the customer on hold or take their number and call them back.  You may need to find out who/how their problem gets handled and need time to find this out.  Take ownership.
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7. 4. Make sure the customer feels like someone cares.

A number of years ago my refrigerator died.  I called Sear for service (since it was their refrigerator).  They told me someone would call me back to schedule.  Over the next 24 hours I called 6 times before someone called me back.  Technician comes out, tells me they need to order a part.  Part gets ordered but is shipped ground, instead of overnight from Texas so it’s 3 more days.  Technician installs part, 3 hours later the refrigerator dies again, right after I had refilled it with food.  Now they tell me they had ordered the wrong part but would get it right the next time.

Over the next 36 hours I called Sears I’m sure a dozen times, to get this resolved.  At one point the person in service told me that the technicians are not Sears employees so they have no control over their work, showing up on time or anything else.  You can imagine I saw red.

The bottom line to this story: in over 2 weeks I still did not have a working refrigerator, I had lost food twice and no one was taking ownership of my problem.  I won’t share all the details but I will say I spoke to the President of Refrigeration for Sears worldwide (after calling the Chairman of the Board), who told me he couldn’t give me what I wanted, but finally did.

It cost them a lot of money to make me happy (or at least not unhappy) and the truth is that didn’t need to happen.  All I wanted was one person to say “Mrs. Finkle, I will take care of your problem” and actually do it.  I spent countless hours trying to get someone to help me and solve my problem.  What I got was finger pointing, excuses, blaming and more.

After that I never bought another item from Sears, even though they had been my go to store for appliances for years.  The ill will that was created was unnecessary.  It’s why so many people simply give up rather than keep fighting for what they deserve…the time, stress and cost to the customer often exceeds the price of whatever they bought.

It’s human to make mistakes, and your customers know that screw ups are inevitable no matter how good your products or services are. But, drop the excuses and get things done instead. It’s better for everyone.

Companies do not have to treat customers badly, they just do, because they can, and because no one takes the time to train everyone in the organization about how to deal with customers in a positive way, and take ownership of solving the problem even if they can’t directly. Customer service isn’t just a department or a group of people who handle unhappy customers.  It’s a mindset that is about how you chose to deal with people.  I’ve created a list of 19 rules for customer service which you can download at the link below.  Which of them can you buff up in your company?