At Comnio, we deal with customer service issues on behalf of consumers all over the world. The customer service issues we help resolve, involve all different types of companies – large, small, startups, and international enterprises.

The levels of customer service we run into are also quite different – some good, a few great, and some seem to lack any form a customer service; but, for the most part, the customer service is bad. Now, when we say “bad customer service” we’re not simply speaking of the service (how an issue is handled). Bad customer service is also due to the experience (how easy or difficult it is to contact customer service). So, when we say “bad customer service” we’re talking about both – the service and the experience.

So, how does bad customer service impact your company? Here are three costly side-effects of bad customer service:

  1. Negative word of mouth marketing.
    Even though most dissatisfied consumers don’t complain to businesses about an upsetting customer service experience, they still tell their friends, family, and followers. Negative word of mouth marketing can be detrimental to some brands – especially when you combine a motivated person and social media.With more and more consumers becoming active on an ever-growing number of social networks, the consumer word-of-mouth can carry much farther than ever before.
  2. Wasted advertising and marketing dollars.
    Every piece of marketing or advertising a once dissatisfied customer comes in contact with, serves as a reminder of “that one time” they had a bad experience with your brand. Compound that with the fact that most of your ex-customers won’t tell you they’re disappointed – they’ll just ignore you.
  3. Additional costs to recover your lost customers.
    In the event, a customer does complain to you, and your marketing or sales team is smart enough to try and get them back, they (the customers) won’t make it easy. You’ll end up spending more money and more resources to recover those customers than simply keeping them happy in the first place.

So, if you want your company to avoid the costs of bad customer service, remember that the service your company provides is just as important as the customer’s service experience.

If you don’t, then we’ll talk to you soon. Thanks for your time and have a wonderful week!