This thread might be better suited to the Client Relations section but I feel that customer service is a major component of marketing and one of my biggest pet peeves. Marketing Profs made a post today based on an article written last month in CRM Daily. This is a direct link to the original article. It's one of those, 'things that make you go hmmmm.'

http://www.crm-daily.com/story.xhtml...d=103001XXU5EQ

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Shari Sultana

HERE HERE!!! I totally agree. I gripe about it all the time. So tired of people standing at the counter and looking at me as I stand there. I intentionally wait, until they say something like "hello" anything. It's amazing that companies don't get this feedback and do something about it. It's like they are here as a favor to me, so I should just deal with their attitudes.

Lisa

Don't even get me started! I totally agree - this is an important issue and you're right Shari in that it is related to marketing - because word of mouth is THE driving factor in so many people's decisions to purchase an item or service. And bad experiences get repeated to a much higher percentage of friends and family.

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Shari, excellent article! This is one of the topics that is extremely important to me. I worked in customer service in some capacity throughout my time in the corporate world and have seen horrible customer service firsthand. Because of this, I emphasize good customer service in my business. I want to make sure my clients know they're getting the "personal touch" rather than the canned answers I always get when I call customer service. As you guys said, word gets around when someone has a bad experience, and it gets around a lot faster than if they had a good experience. Thanks for sharing!

Very interesting. Other than being VA myself, I'm also a Professional Business Evaluator which is typically known as "mystery shopper" and I agree heartily with what this article said.

This article is on point about bad customer service and word does get around quickly when someone receives bad customer service. Many companies need to take a closer look at how to implement changes, if needed, to ensure good customer service.

I also agree with mary and I implement great customer service in my business. Having great customer service standards & providing great customer service can really be good for your business.

I agree completely. I recently read that it doesn't do much good to just do a survey about a customer experience or about the service/s they received, but that you need to know how they "feel" about the company or product because that is what will drive them to continue to do business with you and that so many surveys don't adequately capture that.

With my experience as a Customer Service Evaluator - I've found that it's more effective to improve good service from their business staff by noticing their good workmanship, positive attitude and rewarding them time to time.

A pat on their back saying, "good job!" can make a difference.