How to tackle service providers who don't offer satisfactory service?

Mumbai: Most companies in India still believe in delivering mediocre services to their customers irrespective of their industry, size, age, brick and mortar or e-commerce. I am sure all of us have experienced this whether it is our mobile service provider with call drops and billing issues, or our car dealership service centre or a bank. It is indeed shocking how many of these companies lack reliability, empathy, responsiveness and assurance.

If you listen closely every time you get lousy customer service, you can pick up some hidden words that keep coming up. These words are not uttered by the service rep, but what is unsaid is more critical to us customers. When you hear those unsaid words, you will know immediately that this service provider is about to take you down a frustrating path. There are stories of some isolated great service moments: We all know of the premium retailer that has a no-questions-asked return policy where they have taken back even an item they never stock in their outlets (Nordstrom); of an airline that has gone out of its way to replace a shirt and trouser for a passenger on whom an airhostess tripped a drink (Singapore Airlines); of a hotel where even the janitor has the power to waive off room rent if he finds a guest unhappy about something (Marriott). We may not have such spectacular experiences, but in some smaller ways we have all experienced something that goes above and beyond our expectations, as a result of our complaint or service request.

For instance, many of us would have got a complimentary meal in a restaurant or an upgraded room in a hotel if we have a genuine complaint regarding the food or the room. Hotels have also offered many regular travellers special offers such as a free spa or dinner for two depending on the level of the complaint raised. Such gestures from service providers can indeed delight customers and perhaps create long term loyalty resulting in building up a strong set of advocates among customers.

Now what about the other extreme where customer service is horrible? Like when you order groceries through a mobile app and you end up tracking it for three days on undelivered items (Big Basket), or when you send your car for regular service and it comes back with a bigger problem, or when a travel site refuses to honour a hotel booking which was paid for (Travelguru)? Such incidents leave customers wondering how this could be happening to them. In total contrast to the benefits of great customer service, poor service will lead to customer defection, erosion of sales, increased levels of “MouthShut.com” activities and consumer forum cases. Horrible service experiences will never leave a customer’s mind for years to come.

If you think back and analyse the horrible service experiences you have had in the past, you will find that there are some common traits across all of them. For instance, the service provider never tried to apologise or show empathy towards your situation. A recent book I ordered at a leading e-retailer is a good example. While the company promised delivery within two days, and confirmed delivery by the third day in writing, the book never arrived my house. It took several calls and mails before I got the book 10 days later. Forget apologising for the delay, the e-retailer also failed to own up responsibility and kept saying it was delivered to the security office of my apartment block, something they could not substantiate. Instead of trusting the customer as soon as the complaint was registered and dispatching another copy immediately, the e-retailer was trying to do what was most convenient for it. It was not thinking of the customer and solving his problem. In essence, this is true for all such incidents.

How can we know in advance, at the beginning of our service experience whether we are going to have a good or lousy experience? Try to listen to the seven words none of them will ever say to you openly. These unspoken seven words from the service provider will tell us if we are going to get bad service: “How to get rid of this problem.” Essentially, you will find most service providers somehow want to kill the problem a customer is bringing up instead of looking at it as a service issue that needs process changes. This is also because of the failure to take up the right measures for strategic objectives.

So, how do we spot those unstated seven words? You will find these words hidden in some of the common statements lousy service providers make:

1. Please register your complaint at our toll free number or email us
2. This department is not responsible for the issue you have
3. Please go to our website to register your complaint
4. Our office in the city only can handle this, so you need to go there
5. We will send the service person tomorrow sometime
6. We cannot take your complaint on phone, please write a mail to customer service

If you hear any of these phrases or similar ones from your service provider, you know it is time for you to be firm with them and protect your rights. You have paid them for the service and you need to get the value for it. The least they can do is make some serious effort in resolving your issues. So, the next time when you do business with any service provider, look out for other phrases similar to the above that hide the seven unspoken words..

(The writer is CEO and managing director of CustomerLab Solutions)