Whodathunkit, right?
BusinessWeek has a Q&A with an adviser to American Express, which recently released survey results stating that only one-third of consumers thought they were getting good customer service on a regular basis. How should customer service agents (and CS departments as a whole) do a better job?
They should know how to listen to customers without speaking until the customer is done. If the customer is not happy with whatever the employee suggests, they should get a manager, and the manager should turn to the owner if need be. These incidents should be tracked, with follow-up, and everyone knowing the ultimate outcome.
How basic is that? But apparently, given the God-awful state of customer service today, there are companies that need to be told such basic steps are essential to keeping customers happy—and keeping the company in business in the long run.