Customer Service No Longer Provides Customer Service

by Marj Weber

A company that provides good customer service may be the preferred resource

Prior to the era of the internet, customer service was a sales tool used by savvy companies that recognized that retaining customers was less costly than seeking new customers. Trained personnel did their best to resolve issues and keep customers happy to promote future sales.

The advent of the internet was a death knell to traditional customer service as a marketing tool.  The internet and the use of creative websites have allowed products and services to be sold to everyone, from anywhere in the world. Internet marketing is now the dominant sales tool for all companies, including companies that sell services and products locally.

Online customer service is currently a service that addresses customers’ problems by asking the reader to “click” for a chat, a text, an email, and sometimes offers telephone communication with a third party. If the customer is fortunate to reach a live person, he or she will spend time providing authentication which will serve as a direct market tool for the company, but the customer will probably receive little or no assistance and often no resolution. The contact person probably has no training in the value of customer service and often has limited language skills since English may be a second language. Many company websites have deleted identifying these online services “Customer Service” and renamed the service “Contact Us”. The available click is merely a resource with many options. Some company websites will offer as many as 20 options. A user is required to seek resolution by clicking on many options.

A customer who has a problem to resolve with an online company can expect to spend hours, and sometimes days addressing a complaint, settling an invoice issue or trying to return an item. Online chats, surveys, being placed on “hold” for extended periods cannot be defined as “Customer Service” since it is the customer who is providing the service, not the company. (Yes, there are some companies providing quality online customer service, but they are the exception, not the rule.)

It is the opinion of the writer that the wasted time the customer is required to dedicate to “Contact Us” services will eventually alter the customers’ shopping habits. He or she will place the value of good online customer service over price, or shipping costs, or available bonus coupons. A company that provides good customer service may be the preferred resource, even if their prices are slightly higher.

Related content:

4 Reasons Customer Service Still Matters

4 Definitive Examples to Understand and Serve Your Customers

Customer Satisfaction Pays Dividends