Is Customer Service Disappearing due to Automation?

At networking meetings, small business owners are asked how they differ from their competition. Often, they will say they provide good customer service. Every business owner wants to provide good customer service. However, how many really provide good customer service? Automation and a connected world might be decreasing the number of small businesses providing customer service. Here are ways customer service is faulty today.

1. No One Answers – In many instances, a potential customer or client calls a business only to be given a list of automated choices. They might not have a choice that fits their reason for calling. Some places also have swapped out receptionists for artificial receptionists. The potential client believes he or she is speaking with a person when in fact he or she isn’t. Some places just ignore a phone call directly because they only answer to text messages. None of these are providing service to the customer. They are providing service to themselves. It is more convenient, cheaper and less time-consuming to answer the phones this way. Take the example of a recent phone call. A woman tried to call a number for a dentist but punched in the wrong number. It was for a lock and key business. She realized her mistake and hung up. After speaking with the dentist, her phone rang. The lock and key place called her back apologizing for missing the call and asking how he could help her. She explained the mistake but told him she appreciated the effort in calling back. When she does need a lock or key made, she will probably use this company..
2. Make Customers Wait – Most people understand they have to wait a few minutes, but they should not have to wait an hour to be served. A patient needed to replace a crown. The new one had arrived from the lab and an appointment was made. The patient entered the waiting area, only to wait and wait. Several patients entered after the first one and was called back before the original patient. This indicated that the dental office did not respect the patient’s time. The office didn’t believe the patient’s time was valuable. If you are making customers wait too long to be serviced, they most likely will not come back and leave a nasty review on Google. Be mindful of other people’s time.
3. Do Not Troubleshoot – Tech companies often believe they can do everything with automation. They give a customer a list of questions asked through an automatic system. Sometimes, the problem can be fixed by having a human deal with the problem. A homeowner kept having her Internet go out without any reason. It was not stormy. The automated help center suggested rebooting the system by unplugging everything, waiting one minute and putting everything back in place. This solution worked for a day before the issue started all over again. The homeowner finally reached a human in the support team that recognized the problem was a defective router and replaced it.

As business owners, it is important to be available for the potential client, current customers or colleagues. They have to remember that customer service is not about convenient to the owner. When they offer true customer service, they will build loyalty among their clients.