We have all heard the anecdotal clichés about customer service – ‘have a good experience and you tell three people, have a poor experience and you tell twenty’ etc. what is now happening in retail is even more significant.
Feedback from mystery shopping groups and from work completed by Prosell tells us that three things have changed that show an even higher relationship between customer service and sales revenues:
1. Customer expectations have changed and they no longer tolerate poor service. Customers are more impatient and will wait less time to be served. They expect higher levels of product knowledge and want expertise, not just smiley faces (and some don’t even get that.
2. Far greater choice means they will not come back because they don’t have to. This is a major change over the last 10 years. If you are a retailer you will know the competitive landscape has changed beyond recognition in this time.
3. This is the big one. The internet allows feedback to be immediate and all encompassing. We know a restaurant chain that went from profit to loss in just three weeks because the customer service rating on www.eatability.com.au was so poor. This type of customer feedback is also extending beyond restaurants (http://www.shopping.yahoo.com.au/). So it is no longer 20 people knowing about a bad experience over a period of months. It is many thousands and it is overnight.
If you are interested in the change of the Customer Buying Cycle, please click on the link here.
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