There are two companies we will look at here. Company A is one that prides itself on being the best in customer service, while Company B focuses more on selling the product and forgets about the customer afterwards.
First of all, Company A is one that makes quality products that sometimes break down and sometimes can be complicated for customers to use. However, Company A recognizes this problem and they endeavor to make things easier on their customers by providing quality customer service. When a customer calls their support line, Company A has several well-trained customer service representatives who are eager to provide solutions and information to the customers. They have been trained by the best customer service trainers because Company A has spent the right amount of money to secure them. As a result, they are considered professionals in what they do and are the top echelon of their profession. When the customer calls in, they are helped quickly, yet effectively, without the customer feeling like they are getting the runaround. The customer, now with the knowledge that comes with owning a product that works and knowing how to use it, begins to tell their friends and family about the excellent company they bought from and how much they appreciate the service that they did receive.
Contrast this to Company B.
Company B releases quality products, which take some understanding to use, and like Company A, they break down. However, unlike Company A, Company B does not invest heavily in providing a top-notch customer service department.
When a customer calls the help line for the product, they are put on hold and usually wait upwards of 10 or more minutes before they are able to get through to someone. Because the company has not invested in getting quality trainers, they do not have very good customer service to the customers of the company. When customers call in, they are usually with the customer service representative for upwards of 20 minutes, and nothing really gets fixed and anything that gets explained to them is either too complicated to understand, or simply fluff to get the person off the line. The customer, after hanging up, vows never to call that company again, nor to buy their products, and in no way will ever endorse the company or its products to their friends and family.
Which company do you think will do better business in the long-run? Will it be Company A with its quality customer service that tries to help all of its customers in any way that it can, or will it be Company B, who has trouble even providing a simple solution.
Not surprisingly, over half of all companies fall in the category of Company B, while only five percent of all companies fall in the range of Company B.
In a tale of two companies, one with good customer service, one with horrible, what do you want to be a part of and do business with?
