If you’ve just suffered a customer service disaster, be quick – it works. As you may have read about recently elsewhere on this blog, we had a customer service disaster recently.
We had to use what we teach when we seriously upset, annoyed and irritated 2,000 of our favourite people. These are some of the comments we received by e-mail – with no editing!
- I received your email more than 60 times yesterday this is unacceptable for a company trying to present itself as a communication expert this is totally unacceptable and do not ever contact me or send me emails again you blocked my blackberry all day yesterday and had I been overseas I would have had to pay for the privilege of receiving your junk
- spam, spam,spam, spam & more spam!!
- please would you delete me from your mailing list – I have received 40+ e-mails over the past 2 days and your surestop unsubscribe does not work!
- I am extremely unhappy about the 50 or so unsolicited identical emails you dumped on me at a rate of more than one a minute between about 4pm and 5pm yesterday – if this is the way you solicit business
I am amazed that you get any – if it was a mistake I would appreciate it if you would make sure it does not happen again. I have now ‘unsubscribed’ and they seem to have stopped.
Customer service training - we had to use our own advice!
One of many things I decided to do was step into the lion’s den and contact as many people over the following 2 days as possible. Much to my amazement, customers were really understanding, and the anticipated mauling (to continue the lion metaphor for a minute) didn’t happen.
The following are e-mails we received post event. Again no editing ;
- No problem. Apology accepted!
- Thank you for your email but really there is no need, I just thought I would email you on Wednesday to inform you of the volume of emails coming through! Thank you again for your personal response it is appreciated. We will obviously be in touch should our current training requirements change.
- thanks for the e-mail. I do feel for you in this unfortunate circumstance, especially as you say, you train in Sales and Customer Service, but you never know, something more positive might come out of it in the end. I think we have all had some bad experiences with modern technology, so hopefully the damage won’t be as bad as it might appear.
- No probs – happened to us before so you have my sympathy!
- Technology is a wonderful thing…..sometimes. No apology required
So one of many things learned from an experience we wouldn’t want to repeat is act swiftly. Decide on a course of action quickly if things go horribly wrong as they do for everyone at some time ………. and communicate your way out of it.
Hopefully, you’ll never need this advice – but the very best of luck if you ever do!
Customer service and complaint handling training run by To Market in Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham, Coventry, Milton Keynes, Daventry, Wellingborough, Corby, Kettering, Loughborough, Coalville, Oakham, Rugby, Warwick, Stratford and Leamington Spa.
