7 Deadly Sins of Customer Service

​Recent figures released in the Ombudsman Services' Consumer Action Monitor revealed that UK consumers experienced 173 million issues with products and services in 2017. This led to over 100 million complaints. 

In light of this report, MSB’s Brian Hamill has identified the 7 deadly sins of customer service:

Have a nice day now!
Nothing is guaranteed to irritate customers more than a false smile and an insincere greeting. Scripted greetings make the staff sound like parrots and don’t impress anyone; treating customers as individuals is a far better approach.

Queuing, queuing, queuing…
The British may have invented queuing, but isn’t making the customer wait outdated in the digital age? Companies spend millions persuading consumers to buy their products and services, only to keep them waiting to make the purchase.

It’s not company policy!
Well, change the policy! Whatever happened to the saying that ‘the customer is always right’? How many times have you wanted to pay by contactless and couldn’t? How many times have you wanted to have the breakfast menu at five past eleven and couldn’t?

Avoiding eye contact
How are you meant to warm to someone and trust them if they refuse to look you in the eye? This is the most inexcusable sin of all – maintaining eye contact costs nothing, takes no training and builds loyalty faster than any point scheme.

I’ll just put you through to somebody else who might be able to help
Being bounced around a phone system, having to repeat your story continuously, getting increasingly worked up, just to be palmed off on someone else who can’t help – a frequently occurring and immensely frustrating scenario.

And he said… well, I can tell you, I wasn’t standing for that, so I said…
Personal conversations should be kept to personal time. Customers are busy people and do not have the time nor the inclination to listen to the service representatives gossiping.

Err, I’m not sure really… I only work here on Saturdays
Indifferent staff with little product knowledge are the scourge of the weekend shopping. Part-time should relate to the length of hours worked, not the motivation or knowledge level.

How can we help?
You can find out more about MSB’s solutions by viewing the Insight and Consultancy page on our website.