Death of Customer Service

by | Business Growth, Marketing, Trends

Customer service has died.

Companies offering great customer service in Australia have declined as quickly as the ability for most Australians to afford to buy a home.

Repeat business is the foundation of a successful business. It costs less to maintain a customer than to find new ones, but it seems some larger companies are rejecting the concept of regular staff training because consumers are still using them and regardless of price or service will always return. They believe that people have no choice but to use them. They are too successful and want to constantly increase their profits.

Well think again.

If everyone decided to support an Australian company online, buying from Australian companies or Australian products then those companies would thrive in the face of larger multinational companies.

This week, I decided to stop using a major supermarket brand because of bad customer service (and three other companies). Yes, this week has been tough due to an injury and my tolerance level for stupidity is low but over the past week or so I have been treated with disrespect on multiple occasions.

I wanted to go grocery shopping and needed a trolley, but none was available. Multiple people were standing around looking for a supermarket trolley. I decided to let the service desk know that there were no trolleys and that people were waiting. Instead of a thank you, I’ll get on to that, I got “well they are working as hard as they can and you’ll get one when one is available.”

This woman is the face of the supermarket and whether the company refuses to employ more trolley people or the manager is unable to roster staff adequately for busy times, it is not the customers fault and whatever the reason, this service person should have treated the situation with kindness and respect.

I booked my car in for a wash and detail at a local car wash in a shopping centre. I booked it on line seven days in advance and there was availability all morning. The time expected to finish the job was 55 minutes. When I dropped the car off, I was told that ‘walk-ins’ had been put ahead of me and I could have my car in two and a half hours. Unfortunately, I had an airport pick up and had to cancel. I emailed the company with my complaint and was ignored. I still to date have not had a response from the company. They kept my $2 credit card deposit.

I booked a wheelchair taxi for my MIL to get to a vital health appointment, allowing 45 minutes to do the 10 minute journey. The booking was made 3 days out and was accepted. The cab never turned up. I was left with an elderly woman in a wheelchair and no way to get her to the appointment in time. I tried to get hold of the company who doesn’t take calls anymore and does not have a phone customer support number on their website. I was forced through to an operator by creating multiple errors on a booking. It eventually put me through to an ‘Australian’ call centre. The woman on the other end apologised telling me no taxi was available. I asked her why someone didn’t contact me to let me know and she hung up on me.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I thought about starting a Facebook page for bad customer service to our companies, I thought about leaving negative Google reviews, but I am not a keyboard warrior on social media. I prefer to follow the complaints process and see where it leads me. If I am not satisfied with the result, I stop using that company. Like most people, I thought that supermarket shopping was a necessary evil, but since my interaction with that supermarket’s customer service person, I have now decided to spend my money elsewhere.

It means for me, a shift in behaviour and changing habits, but in time, I will get there. In the meantime, I can buy my fruit and vegetables from a local produce place, bread from a local bakers and I have found some wonderful Australian companies and start ups providing everything from cleaning products to deodorant and toothpaste. The pricing is good and I can have everything delivered to my door.

With unemployment rates at record lows and the cost of living so high, employable Australians are reaching for better positions, more money but in many cases providing sub standard service at work. To fix this, companies need to invest in their employees and develop training programs, not only to improve staff skills but also train in customer service, rather than reach for higher profits.

Albert Einstein said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” So let’s educate our frontline employees on how to deal with customers, how to respond when things go wrong, instead of expecting them to know how to deal with it.

And a final word to the keyboard warriors. For those of you that are going red in the face now wanting to explain to me that most (nearly all) products are manufactured overseas, and almost nothing is manufactured in Australia anymore, that is true. It’s an unfortunate fact that can be blamed on high wages in comparison to other countries. But, at least I am giving my money to local people who are working to get their own businesses off the ground. And to parents with children working for multinational companies, teach them to respect their customers and always show kindness even when it is not shown to them. As Michelle Obama said, “Take the higher ground.” Be the better person.

Cheryl Jowitt is co-founder of Rebel Connect PL, a family owned and operated Australian business that provides total marketing solutions. Rebel Connect clients have access to advertising across the company’s radio networks, Rebel FM & the Breeze and Rebel Agency, a digital marketing solutions company providing website development, SEM and social media marketing strategies.

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