What makes you a happy customer, who brings repeat business to an organisation and recommends it to friends and family?
Doesn’t it take something a little more than just an average performance?
The internet and in particular the advent of social media has changed the way we do business. We all prefer to interact with people we know and trust, businesses that have been recommended to us by friends and family. We take note of the public consensus when it comes to an organisation or product of which we have no knowledge. The public voice is expressed via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and forums. When people are happy with a product or service they sing its praises. When people are not happy, they bag the organisation. We listen.
To quote from The Customer Service Manifesto by Joseph Jaffe: “The old marketing adage is that a satisfied customer will tell 5-7 of their friends about their experience, whereas the dissatisfied customer will tell 15-20. Today, an unhappy customer will tell a million of their closest strangers.” The increased voice of customers can be attributed to social media, which makes it so easy to get the word out.
Apparently we as a buying public have become fickle. The old concept of brand loyalty is dead. Consumers have access to a broad range of information, multiple choices in how to spend their $ and have as a result become more discriminating in their purchases. They shop around, seeking the best deal – not just in terms of price, but in terms of value and service. Consumers are looking for the WOW factor. What distinguishes one company from another? It is not when they meet your expectations for value and service, but it is when they EXCEED your expectations for value and service. That’s what gets your attention. That’s what sends you back with repeat business.
So take this scenario. I signed up for a 10 day trial of a membership site. The price for the 10 day trial was $11.96, following which I would be billed $97 per month. Although it seemed like a great idea at the time and I was keen to check it out, the fact was that I did not have time to make use of the resource, and so decided to cancel at the end of the 10 day trial so as to not incur any further charges. An email was received acknowledging my cancellation and reassuring me that I would not be billed further. All well and good.
Imagine my dismay to then see a $97 charge on my next credit card statement. Turns out my cancellation request was not received within the 10 day period – I was a day late in cancelling. The company’s response to my query was: ‘The $97 monthly charge is not subject to a refund because you had the opportunity to cancel before that charge was made. We’ve attached the electronic signature webpage for your convenience.”
True enough. To the letter of the law, the company is absolutely correct. They are in the right, and I am in the wrong. But how do you think I FELT about discovering I had been one day late in cancelling and therefore charged for a month of membership I am not able to use? Not happy, that’s for sure.
I think it would have been smart of the company (Vic Johnson’s Getting Rich With E-books membership) to refund my $97, realising that I had intended to cancel my membership within the 10 day period. That way they would have had a customer who was raving about their excellent service, instead of one very unhappy customer who cannot wait to tell anyone and everyone about ripped off I feel.
Vic Johnson’s personal response to my complaint was “I am sorry you’re unhappy with your experience but I do hope you’ll avail yourself of the materials you purchased, which will be available to you for at least six months.” How wonderful to have six months availability of something I don’t want and can’t use. Fantastic. That makes me feel SO much better!!!
Joseph Jaffe writes that probably the “most important issue business and marketing execs will need to come to terms with in 2010 and beyond is how to create an organization that is mobilized, structured and empowered to be responsive, empathetic, accessible, connected and human in the hearts, minds, and wallets of their most prized assets—their customers and their employees”.
What about you? What do you think constitutes good customer service? Are you happy to deal with an organisation that rigidly sticks to the rules and cares little for how it leaves the customer feeling?
I welcome your comments below.
