Top Ten Customer Service Mistakes

By Nancy Friedman
Telephone Doctor usually gets asked: "What are the best customer service tips?" Recently, someone asked about the worst customer service mistakes. So, to make it even, we’ve compiled the ten worst customer service mistakes. Take note, and don’t let these happen to you!

1. Not Being Friendly Enough Without exception, not being friendly is the number one customer service mistake. Customers should be treated as welcomed guests when they call or visit your company. As we’ve all experienced, sometimes we’re treated as an annoyance or an interruption. The Telephone Doctor motto: "Be friendly before you know who it is" is one way to eliminate this mistake.

2. Poor Eye Contact Heads that twirl on a spindle when you’re working with a customer is a big mistake. Keep your eyes on the customer. It’s a sure sign the person you’re talking with isn’t holding your interest when you’re glancing all around. And they’ll notice it quickly. Obviously, Telephone Doctor understands making good eye contact on the phone is a bit difficult, albeit impossible. Therefore, when you’re on the phone you need to be completely focused on the call and the customer. Don’t type, unless it pertains to the call, don’t read something else, don’t do anything but listen to the caller.


3. Talking with Co-Workers and Ignoring or Not Acknowledging the Customer This customer service mistake unfortunately happens a lot. Seems as though it’s more important to continue talking with a co-worker than establishing immediate rapport with the customer. Drop the internal conversation as soon as you see the customer. Carrying on a conversation with someone in your office while you’re talking with a customer on the phone is a real no-no!

4. Being Rude No one thinks they’re rude; certainly not on purpose. However, the customer can perceive many things you do as rude. And as they say, "Perception is real."

5. Poor Product Knowledge When working with a customer, if you’re not familiar with the products and services you offer, you’ll be making a big mistake. Take the time to learn about your company. Know what’s going on. If you’re temporary, or are new with the company, it’s not enough to use that as an excuse. Customers don’t care if you’re new, working on a temporary assignment or if it’s not your department. All they want is help and information. Ask to be trained. Ask for more information from your company.

Telling a customer, "I’m new" or "I’m just a temp" only adds fuel to the fire. You can explain that you will find someone to help them as you are "not familiar" with the situation. That at least shows you’re going to help them.

6. Leaving a Customer Without Telling Them Where You’re Going and Why It’s a very good idea to explain to your customer in person or on the phone what you’re going to be doing for them. It helps them a lot, and gives them a lot of patience. If you need to go "in the back" to get something it’s easy to say, "Mr. Jones, the Widget you’re looking for is in the stock room. Let me go get it for you. I’ll be a few moments." The same procedure should apply on the phone. Never tell the caller, "Hold on." Let the caller know where you are going and approximately how long you think you’ll be. This will make working with the customer easier for both you and them.

7. Blaming Others It’s not the person you blame that will look bad…it’s you. Don’t blame (or knock) the company, its policy, or any member of the staff. Customers don’t want to hear about whose fault it is, they just want the situation fixed. Take full responsibility of the situation on hand.

8. Not Double Checking When a customer wants something and it’s not available it’s how you reject them that’s more important than the fact that you are rejecting them. The process of double-checking should become habit forming. It should be a standard operating procedure. It feels so good when you tell someone, "The last time I checked we were out of stock, but let me DOUBLE CHECK for you to be sure." I personally can think of dozens of times when I asked the person to double check after they told me they were out of things, and what do you know...someone had reordered and the person didn’t know about it. It’s a big mistake to not double check.

9. One Word Answers We’re taught in school that three words make a sentence. Don’t answer with one word. Even yes, no, and okay are perceived as rude and uncaring. A Telephone Doctor reminder – use complete sentences for your customer.

10. Head Shaking. When a customer asks you for something, give them a verbal answer. Shaking your head up and down or back and forth is NOT an appropriate answer. They can’t hear your head rattle.

Fixing these customer service mistakes will enhance your ability to work better with customers. Remember, it's the SLD’s (subtle little differences) that make the big difference. Good luck!

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the Web site at www.telephonedoctor.com.