Without beating around the bush, the cost of poor customer service is £37 billion. In fact, more than a quarter of customers chose to take their business elsewhere due to bad service last year. So, what can be done about this customer service epidemic? 

A company’s ability to deliver excellent customer service is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage. This is especially true in the retail, banking and transport sectors, where customers can go to competitors easily (unlike, say, utilities). With 63 percent of consumers feeling disillusioned and distrustful of business, the companies that manage to get customer service right stand to gain a lot.

But what counts as good customer service? For some, it’s a quirky Starbuck’s employee asking you for, and calling you by, your first name with every order – though many others see this as intrusive or downright creepy. For others, its expedience, problem solving, and rapid solutions. For others again, it’s simply old-fashioned good manners and politeness.

Of course, what counts as good customer service depends on your industry, target audience and product. But at the core of all customer service is respect –  for consumers’ preferences, knowledge gaps, ideals and requirements.

We’ve all been on the wrong end of poor customer service. And, whether we like to admit it or not, many of us may have delivered it. Patience can be hard to come by when dealing with a difficult twentieth customer of the day. But that’s not really an excuse. Nothing is. Whilst the customer may not always be right – indeed, in a complex digital world, the opposite is often true – the customer should always be respected.

That means no rip offs. No patronising manner. No long waiting times. No feeling like a problem. No bad manners. No silly jargon. And no broken promises. Nail that, and your company should thrive in any industry.

What do you think counts as good customer service? And who are your favourite (or least favourite) companies in terms of customer service?

Email me your thoughts.