Those of you already in customer service jobs may recall the recent survey by Genesys that showed that poor customer service could be costing UK business billions. Genesys found that 73 percent of consumers said they would end a relationship with a company for this reason, at an average cost of £248 per customer. Now another survey, this time by Convergys, suggests that this cost could become even higher due to the increasing popularity of social media.
Everyone in customer service careers knows that unhappy consumers are significantly more likely to pass on their substandard customer experience than happy ones. A good statistic to quote in a customer services job interview is that your average disgruntled customer typically tells eight to ten people about a problem.
With these numbers in mind take a look at the recent findings of Convergys, as presented at a conference in London last month by CEO Frank Sherlock. Of 2,000 UK consumers questioned, a third said that they would share negative customer experiences via social media such as twitter, Facebook or YouTube. Each of these complaints would reach the eyes or ears of an average of forty-five people, two thirds of whom would avoid or stop doing business with the offending company. In other words, one bad tweet could loose you 30 customers. This has huge ramifications for everyone in customer services jobs since, as Frank Sherlock says, “It is now much easier for isolated customer service experiences to take on a life of their own.”
If you’re looking for customer service jobs you might do well to acquaint yourself with this phenomena and take a look on YouTube at the United Breaks Guitars video. This is Dave Carrol’s response to United Airlines failure to compensate him fairly when they broke his guitar. It’s had well over 3 million hits and lost the airline untold business. Another example, closer to home, is Patrick Askins’ YouTube diatribe against BT. It’s not as entertaining as the United video but it has given BT a big bad public relations headache and shamed them into an apology from the highest level.
In view of the growing challenge presented by social media it’s vital that those in customer service manager jobs ensure quality of service at all times and at all levels. Frontline staff need to be trained and motivated to the highest standard and multi channel systems put in place to resolve customer complaints quickly before they go viral.
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