Customer Service

It is fair to say that most consumers choose a desired product or service based on price, a good sales pitch, appealing advertising or simply because it is a once in a lifetime offer. Whatever the motive for buying, the implicit objective is to obtain value for money. For each consumer the definition of value for money may be different but ultimately clients are content if their expectations are met.

Regrettably too many transactions are not satisfactory, leaving customers regretting their decision and having to face problems afterward. What was intended as a positive experience suddenly turns into hours spent dealing with customer service trying to obtain a reimbursement or compensation, a product to function or simply to claim the quality they are entitled to.

So how can you make sure you are choosing the company that is right for you before it is too late?

By handling consumer complaints across many industries and many countries on a daily basis as a profession, I have gained a lot of insight into customer satisfaction issues and became very educated on consumer behavior. Surprisingly, more often than not, complaints and dissatisfaction could have been avoided altogether had the customer’s expectations been aligned with the company’s value proposition in the first place.

It is common, in case of dissatisfaction, to accuse the company for under delivering but it is essential that consumers start taking responsibility for their own satisfaction from the start. I am not arguing the fact that companies need to improve their customer service and saying that all issues lie with customers, but when acquiring goods customers quite naturally have a long list of expectations, which need to be managed.

Ideally when selecting a company to do business with, all needs and desires ought to taken into consideration. Unfortunately the tendency is to evaluate only a few basic requirements and ignore the others assuming they will be met. It is only once the deal is done and the other expectations are not met that consumers are unhappy and file a complaint.

I had a long discussion with a customer on this very subject. He had booked his holiday flights with a low-cost carrier well in advance in order to obtain the cheapest fare possible. He was satisfied as the price was truly a bargain and exceeded his expectation.

Whilst making the reservation however, he knew that he may have to change his departure date but did not verify whether this would be feasible. And indeed, a few weeks later he was denied time off work and needed to reschedule his flights. He rang the airline and was told that his request was not possible. In fact under the company’s terms and conditions neither changes nor cancellations were permitted. The customer was furious, filed a complaint and was seeking legal action against this company.

Although I sympathize with the customer, in this case, the airline cannot be criticized, as customers agree to the terms and conditions when making the online reservation.

In order to avoid situations such as this one, there are a few steps you can take to spare yourself from a lot of frustration and make your consumer experience a lot more enjoyable.

1. Identify what is important to you.
You may only be interested in obtaining the lowest price.
You may want to be amongst the first to own the latest technology.
You may only consider the top of the range and highest quality.
After-sales services and customer care may be a strong selection criteria.
Whichever aspects are essential to you, make sure the company provides it.

2. Understand the trade-offs.
There are always compromises. It is unrealistic to believe in the deal, which promises the lowest price, the highest quality, and to be the best on the market. So for instance, if you are keen on adopting new technology, you need to accept that every new product or software will have its problems. If you do not want to be stumbling across unwanted features or unknown bugs which the company does not yet know about or know how to fix, wait for the product to be established. It is improbable to think that unprecedented products won’t have teething problems.

Here are some of the most common trade-offs to consider:

Low price: means minimalistic service. Customer service is by email or by letter only. Fee-based technical support. Short warranty periods, fee-based exchange or repair services, no reimbursement, and no change or cancellation possibilities.

New technology: unwanted features, long repair/return times due to stock availability or allocation, high price. Uninformed technical support.

Top of the range-high quality: premium price for a standard product. Many and sometimes very unfriendly policies. Impersonal and arrogant service. Customer requests can usually be accommodated but against cost.

3. Read the small print carefully.
Whether you are signing a contract in a shop, or doing a web based transaction; take the few extra minutes to read through what you are agreeing to. Policies, license agreements and terms and conditions are contrary to what many people think, not always the same. Each company is free to draw up its terms and conditions and by clicking ‘yes’ or blindly signing you are agreeing to them. If you do not understand some of the legal terminology, ask for an explanation.

Terms and conditions to be particularly careful of are Internet Providers, Airlines and Travel. ISP contracts are known to bundle many services, which you pay for, but which you do not need, their contracts are not very flexible and cancellation or changes are difficult. Contracts are often not in alignment with the land-line provider leading to additional cost and impossible contract termination.

When booking flights online, even if you fly regularly with the same airline, read the small print every single time. Their policies are changing extremely rapidly. In some cases, if you start your transaction online, you have to carry it through online. If you do not check-in online or print your own ticket, you may have to pay an additional fee at the airport.

4. Check the company.
One of my all time favorite testing methods is simply to call the company and visit their website. When you call customer service inquire about the product you are interested in. See how they react. Are they patient, friendly, notice how long you had to wait to speak to someone? Did the person you spoke to provide their name? When you do not have a problem to resolve you are more likely to notice the details and be able to form a better opinion about a company.

When visiting a company’s website, look for information on who is managing the company. Are there any photos? Look for contact details. Are you able to find a telephone number for customer service easily or was it carefully hidden? Is the information contained on the Internet site essentially about product and sales? A customer-centric company will present themselves as such and be eager to build a relationship with its customers.

These steps may seem evident but customers assuming the company would take care of all eventualities trigger a startling 50% of all complaints I receive. Based on the latter, it surely is worthwhile optimizing our own customer satisfaction by trading the post-sales complaints process for the pre-sales verifications process.

Nathalie Frechet is the founder of Passion 4 Customer, a company dedicated to European complaint management and customer intelligence. Passion 4 Customer manages customer feedback across 8 European countries, 7 industries in 3 languages. Visit us at http://www.passion4customers.com