Poor Customer Service Providers Lose 'Billions'

While I was surfing the Internet for relevant news about the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, I came across an intriguing news item. According to the news article, financial and utilities services providers lose as much as £2 billions each year due to poor customer services. Now, that got me interested.

As a direct consequence of poor customer service, according to the news article, banks and utilities providers are losing 1/4 of their customer base. The high costs are due to the fact that financial and utilities service providers have the biggest consumer bases, however, their ppor customer service leads to the declining customer loyalty.

One of the common distress of customers include long waiting times, non-user-friendly self service, and having to repeat information.

Companies need to know how altering expectations are influencing high customer churn. According to the news article, industries just can't continue doing what they used to do because customers nowadays have higher customer service expectations. If companies do not improve customer service, dissatisfaction among customers and consumers will increase.

Yes, there are numerous call center companies all over the world right now, but the question is: are they the right customer service providers that your company can partner with? I guess, it's not just about outsourcing but a question of outsourcing to the right service providers.

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Customer Service 101: Active Listening

Listening and hearing what the customer is saying plays a big role in customer service. You know the customer service of a restaurant is bad when you've ordered for three large burgers and instead you get three large doughnuts. Customer service is bad when a representative from a company you're calling can't provide you significant information about their product or service.

Most customer service representatives (CSRs) fail miserably when it comes to listening and hearing what the customer is saying and is trying to say. Listening is not enough if you want to please a customer. You also have to hear what the customer is trying to say, and what the customer is not saying. Listening and paying attention to what the other person is saying makes or breaks a business deal, or a relationship.

If you are in the customer service industry, active listening is important. And to become a good listener yo have to practice in making an effort to listento not only what the other person is saying, but as well as make an effort to comprehend the whole message the customer is telling you.

Be attentive and pay extra attention to your customer carefully and do not be distracted by whatever is going around you. Do not create counter arguments in your head while your customer is talking to you.

Active listening is focusing on what your customer is telling you. If you allow yourself to be distracted while the customer is speaking, then you might miss out certain emotions and thoughts that the other person is trying to convey. Missing out on details will lead to confusion and misunderstanding.