Why You Lose Customers

Customers. Clients. Patrons. These people are important to all kinds of businesses, but particularly businesses that are small. Without the investors or securities of some of the larger corporations, small businesses often rely solely on those whom they serve. This causes competition, as many small businesses find themselves fighting on separate sides in the crusade for the customer. With so many businesses offering similar services, there is little to distinguish one from the other.

However, one thing that does offer distinction is the level of customer service and, more notably, the level of customer disservice.

When I first started this article, I asked several people what kind of experiences they had had with poor customer service. Some of their experiences were extreme – with one instance where a photographer punched an unsatisfied customer – but most relayed occurrences consistent with my own. I narrowed it down to three behaviors of customer disservice. When these behaviors are continually maintained, the ability to drive people away will surely be in the bag.

Businesses that Act as if their Customer’s are Invisible: In a store or a restaurant, ignoring a customer can range from not asking them if they need help to forgetting to refill their coffee cup. In a marketing firm or a law office, ignoring a customer can range from not returning their phone calls to keeping them on hold, forcing them to listen to the latest John Tesh album. There may be no quicker way to lose a customer than by simply failing to acknowledge their existence.

I, for instance, was ignored at a hardware store years ago, an occurrence I attributed to the fact that I’m a woman. As I stood in line watching the clerk look past me to help man after man, I made a decision to never shop at that hardware store again. Being that I have since been to other hardware stores at least twice, I’m sure my business was sorely, sorely missed.

Ignoring the customer is a lonely road to go down; its bricks are paved with bankruptcy rather than gold. Something as simple as offering your customers a cordial greeting or calling them to let them know you’re working on their case can make all the difference. Simply, give your customers the attention they want.

Businesses that are too Pushy: On the other end of the spectrum are the businesses that are overzealous with their customers. Pushiness, bossiness, and controlling tendencies are something customers will also stray away from. Most people avoid the clothing stores with four salespeople per customer and stay away from the insurance agencies that call every day. Most people don’t like the electronics store where items are shoved down their throats or the financial services where advisors show up unannounced on their front door, peering in the window as they try to eat dinner with their family.

Customers want things done on their terms. It really is a conundrum for the business person: people want your attention, but they don’t want to have to bring you up on stalking charges. The only answer is to compromise: be helpful and available to your customers but don’t be a business that acts like a used car salesman; do away with the checkered jacket and the gold tooth.

Businesses that Make Assumptions: Making assumptions are human nature, but they have no place in business. It may seem natural to make an assumption about a customer or potential customer based on their appearance or the tone of their voice, but a good business will never react, or fail to react, based on merely a notion.

There is a pivotal scene in the movie Pretty Woman that attests to this very idea. Julie Roberts, dressed in her prostitution-esque street clothes, is ignored by a snotty saleswoman at a posh Rodeo Drive store and asked to leave. After spending hundreds of dollars in other shops, and adorning clothes laden with wealth, her character returns to the store and asks the lady who previously ignored her if she works on commission. After stating that she does, Julia’s character bellows a strong, “big mistake…huge,” and storms out.

If this scene taught us anything, other than the often overlooked fact that sometimes hookers do finish first, it taught us that no one ever knows what a customer has to offer. Thus, no assumption should ever be made.

These three types of behaviors make up a paradoxical realm. There is irony in the business person who is bad at servicing customers. It is similar to a fire fighter irritated by heat, a doctor irked by viruses, a cop annoyed by donuts.

Poor customer service has no place in a small business, but luckily, it can be remedied with one simple solution; if you don’t like to work for or deal with people then don’t get a job that involves striving for customer satisfaction. Instead, become a postal worker.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for On&On Creative. Working for a small business that specializes in Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization, she plans to take over the world one computer at a time.

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