Top 10 Customer Service Mistakes

In a downturn, customer service is all important - losing customers hurts your bottom line. So we've looked at negative ratings on Plebble over the last month to find the top 10 customer service turn-offs which could end up losing you customers.

1. RUDENESS
Rudeness is the biggest complaint of all. Almost a fifth (19%) described experiencing an unhelpful attitude or rudeness when they tried to resolve an issue - a remarkably high proportion and the most commonly cited grievance.

2. BEING UNREACHABLE
18% mentioned companies not answering calls or emails or not calling back. This complaint was not just directed at smaller businesses with fewer resources for customer service, but spread across big brands, SMEs and online companies. Research done by the complaint management software company, CDC Respond, last year suggested that customers who have a problem which is later satisfied are up to 8% more loyal than those who did not have a problem. We've found a similar trend on Plebble - people frequently visit the site to praise a company for solving their problem efficiently.

3. NOT REPLYING
A further 18% complained about not receiving replies to written communication, particularly complaints. In our research for Plebble's AdviceCentre, we are surprised how often it is hard to find guidance on complaints procedures and where to address formal letters. How many people end up writing to the wrong place and then, when they get nowhere, turn online to vent their frustration?

4. BROKEN PROMISES
15% of people described feeling deceived because of companies going back on their word or providing inconsistent or inaccurate advice. The most common of these was companies confirming items were in stock, taking the money for the order and then days/weeks later informing the customer that it was in fact out of stock. This is not unique to internet business, but is one of the more common complaints on Plebble about online retailers.

5. PASSING THE BUCK
8% described their annoyance at companies passing the buck - not taking responsibility for problems and blaming others for their woes. This was not what people wanted to hear when all they wanted was their problem sorted.

6. INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE
7% complained about call-centre advisors not having the knowledge or authority to sort their problems.

7. NO CONTACT INFORMATION
4% were frustrated that companies had not provided contact information (especially a phone number) to use to sort their problem. The use of online contact forms as the only means of contact is a particular grievance.

8. PREMIUM PHONE NUMBERS
A further 4% complained about having to pay via premium phone numbers to speak to customer service.

9. AUTOMATED CALL SYSTEMS
4% were irritated at having to navigate automated call systems when they needed to talk to a person.

10. TIMELINES
And finally 3% talked about their annoyance at the length of time and volume of contact taken to sort simple problems.

PlebbleSystems is working on a much larger study on this subject. If you would like to receive a copy when it is published, please email research@plebble.com with your name and company name.

Carphone Warehouse signs up to Plebble

Last week Carphone Warehouse signed up to Plebble. Not only was it great to see another brand sign up but more importantly a brand which has such a poor service reputation. I met Guy Stephens, the man behind Carphone Warehouse's move. He is the online help manager at Carphone and is doing a great job engaging with his customers. Guy is not only looking at Plebble but at other forums where he can engage with customers and resolve their issues. He is actively using Twitter to do this, check out his Twitter profile to see all the hard work he is doing.

What I find so exciting about this is here is a company with poor service rankings that understands how important it is to engage with customers on a peer to peer level. Negative comments can act as deterrent for businesses to engage. Nobody likes criticism and naturally we all try and distance ourselves from it. This however is often a grave mistake. Negative comments offer enormously constructive feedback. Left untouched they can be a threat to business, but dealing with them presents a huge opportunity to turn things around. Carphone seem to get this and that is why they are prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the hard but fruitful work of dealing with customers problems online.

At Plebble, we have seen several of the worst big brand service offenders silently listening to customer feedback but not actively engaging with them yet. This shows that they know it's important, but they don't know how do deal with it. Carphone is a good example of a brand setting the precedent and we believe more will follow.

What's the reason for a shift in attitudes by brands? One big reason is the growth of Twitter, but that's a post for another time...