Company Blog

Service Above All Else

by Adam Zack — June 4, 2015

pass-fail Continuing on last weeks theme of what makes—separates—great companies from the simply good to terrible, customer service always seems to be the key differentiator. And it’s not just businesses we shop; it’s municipalities, utilities and even public transportation. I was once traveling to London with a layover in beautiful Newark, New Jersey. We had to wait nearly five hours. As an airport employee approached me, I asked him what time it was. He looked at his watch out of reflex, then looked me in the eye and said he didn’t know. And no, his watch wasn’t broken. And yes, I am sure it wasn’t just a wristband. He knew, but he chose not to tell me for his own reasons. God knows he looks at his watch to see when it’s time for his break. It was a blatant example of “I just don’t CARE.” So I never flew through Newark again. And I told about 30 people the story, so I am the reason everyone thinks Newark sucks!

Caring, from ownership through management to employees, sets the foundation for great customer service as one of your core values. Who doesn’t want to be the company that people talk about in a good way: “You’re not going to believe happened to me today at the grocery store!” What? They screwed up your sandwich again? They put dog food in the chili? They commented on your wine purchase (“You having a party?” No, ummm, it’s just for me.) “No. I was looking for a special beer. The clerk said that the beer was very scarce, but due in later that week. He asked if I’d like him to text message me when it came in, and that he would text me every time they got it in the future if I would like. Wow!” Now that kind of story can’t be bought with ads or signs. It’s word of mouth that is priceless.

I came across a recent list from the beyondphilosophy.com site by Colin Shaw. Share it with your managers, owners, employees and everyone who has the ability to make a difference with your customers now.

15 Customer Service Stats You Need to Take Note of:

Price is not the main reason for customer churn; it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service – Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008.
A customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service related than price or product related – Bain & Company.
The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20% – Marketing Metrics.
For every customer complaint there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent –Lee Resource.
A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10% – Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murphy.
96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91% of those will simply leave and never come back – 1st Financial Training services.
A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs.
Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell about 4-6 people about their experience. – White House Office of Consumer Affair.
70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated – McKinsey.
55% of customers would pay extra to guarantee a better service – Defaqto research.
Customers who rate you 5 on a scale from 1 to 5 are six times more likely to buy from you again, compared to ‘only’ giving you a score of 4.8. – TeleFaction data research.
It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience – “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner.
A 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 5 – 95% – Bain & Company.
It costs 6 – 7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one – Bain & Company.
eCommerce spending for new customers is on average $24.50, compared to $52.50 for repeat customers –