Good customer service is a valuable asset, especially when upholding the Agile Manifesto’s value of collaborating with customers over product development.
It’s wise for Agile teams to bear in mind that a good reputation for service is built up over many years of effort by Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service departments. Don’t take it personally when they say, “I’ll never let Product Development anywhere near my customers.”
So take note of these common customer service mistakes and by going out of your way to avoid them, you’ll strengthen your product’s position in a competitive market, and have greater access to customers’ insights on product development.
1. Untrained staff. It does not matter whether your company has 2 or 200 employees, you must train everyone in the art of customer service. Customers will not tolerate rudeness, incorrect information, or apathy on the part of your staff. Not training the staff – which should include everyone – is a major mistake made by too many businesses.
2. Trying to win an argument. It is worth remembering that it takes five times more effort (and cost) to gain one new customer as it takes to maintain one current customer. Therefore, by winning an argument you may be losing a valuable customer.
3. Inaccessibility. If you want repeated collaboration, you need to be accessible to your customers. If it is difficult for them to contact you, they may not be willing to collaborate in future.
4. Standing by your product. While it may be easier to say, “That’s the way it works,” you should be able to find ways to blend in new ideas raised by your customers. Using the phrase: “If I do that for you, I’ll have do to it for everyone,” is one of the fastest ways to lose a customer.
5. Keeping your word. If you promised a customer that a feature would be ready by a certain day, then it should there by that day. If you fail there can be no excuses; the only words you can say are, “I’m sorry,” backed up by an extra effort to make the customer happy by delivering.
6. Poor record keeping. “I’m just not good with names,” is not acceptable. If you keep referring to people incorrectly they will not continue doing business with you.
7. The runaround. When someone calls for you, they expect you to be the first or second person they speak to. People do not like being passed from one person to another repeatedly: Passing the buck is like passing the customer on to your competitor.
8. Email cop-outs. Since email is impersonal, you may be tempted to use it to deliver bad news. Or you may decide to ignore emailed customer complaints hoping they will simply forget about the issue. These are cop outs, or excuses for not providing adequate customer service. It is very simple for you to respond to each inquiry quickly and personally.
9. Failure to listen. Often people do not listen closely to their customers, responding with an answer that does not match the problem because they were not paying attention. You should make sure you practice the art of listening and note-taking.
10. Forgetting the basics. “Please,” “thank you,” “we’re sorry about the inconvenience,” and so on are simple phrases that cost nothing, take little effort, demonstrate humility, and win customers’ hearts.
