I loathe poor customer service. In fact, to be blunt – little pisses me off more!
I judge a company on it’s service generally (ie speed of delivery, competitive pricing, ease of navigation / use, packaging etc) whether it’s a retail business or something like a utility company, and on it’s customer service.
Reading this post on my brother’s new blog (shameless plug) really made me think, and after thinking for a while, my heckles started to rise.
I have worked in both retail & services and know just how important customer service is – so why do some companies put so little effort in?
Three companies I have had excellent customer service from recently are:
1) Cosatto. I contacted Cosatto about getting a new raincover for my Cabi (damn wind ripped the last one when we had those awful gales!). My call was answered quickly, by a friendly female who was polite, professional and reordered me one immediately, had my details on screen very quickly, was chatty without being irrelevant and made a point of asking me if there was anything else that she could do for me whilst she was on the phone.
2) Eon. I have my gas & electricity through Eon and have done for years. Every so often I ring them and ask them to review my account to make sure I am on the right tariff for my usage, I give them updated readings and basically just make sure I am on the best plan for me. Everytime I have rung them to do this (haven’t ever had to ring them with any other query etc as there has never been a mistake on my bill or problem with my supply) they have been helpful, gracious, and often find a way to save me money. I feel valued as a customer.
3) Sky. I have my broadband, calls, landline and of course Sky TV with Sky & have contacted them a few times with broadband queries and the like. My call or email has always been quickly answered / replied to, advice is relevant and giving when needed in idiot-proof form (I’m not the most technical of people). Can’t fault them for politeness, helpfulness, knowledge and being able to answer my query quickly and efficiently without having to pass me from department to department.
You might wonder why I applaud what these three companies – after all isn’t this what they are supposed to do? Isn’t customer service about basically giving the customer good service? Sadly good service nowadays is the exception, not the norm. I find many companies are nonchalant about how they treat their clients or are just plain rubbish.
What about you – does poor customer service make your blood boil?
If you had to name one company, large or small that has provided you with excellent service recently, who would it be??
