3 Signs of a Broken Customer Experience

All businesses provide products and services, but your relationship with your customer does not stop there. Brands need to provide exceptional service, pre-sale and post-sale, as well.

The following are some hard-to-ignore signs of  broken customer experiences:

#1.Overconfidence in Action

Whether the business offers professional certifications or personalised legal services, it is imperative that the employees maintain humility while dealing with customers. Cutting off customers mid-sentence, assuming their needs, or not bothering to listen carefully – all of these actions indicate overconfidence. Managers should be on the alert for complacency within their ranks, as that threatens the overall customer service quality. Team members, whether in a traditional customer support role or as a salesperson, may gloss over the basic details while trying to resolve an issue or make a sale. Essentially, unchecked overconfidence over one’s knowledge or skill set can result in communication breakdowns and poor decision-making.  One needs to always be open to new ideas and know that there is always room for improvement. As a team leader, one must cultivate a positive attitude towards all kinds of feedback and encourage team members to learn from their mistakes.

#2.The Complacency Factor

Another clear indicator of dismal customer experience is a lackadaisical attitude towards customer complaints, concerns, and suggestions. Here are some ways to bring your team back on track:

• Encourage customer-facing professionals to treat every customer interaction as an opportunity to make a positive impact.
• Facilitate self-awareness sessions that allow team members to have a 360-degree view of their on-the-job performance.

Getting feedback can be quite difficult sometimes, so make sure you dedicate a well-trained person or a team, depending on the size of the company and the number of customers, to follow up and ask for feedback. Your customer-facing staff must possess above-average speaking, writing and listening skills in order to be able to deal and communicate with clients.

#3.Demotivated Team Members

Behaviour matters, especially when in a work environment where it is repeated on a regular basis. Demotivated team members, those who feel bored or dissatisfied with their role, can unintentionally convey that attitude to the customers they deal with. If your employees do not get along with each other or feel that they are not being treated well, it will eventually affect the customer experience.  

Here are a few steps that managers can take to boost employee morale:

• Ensure that all of your employees enjoy access to a comfortable working environment.
• Enhance your team’s skills by scheduling customer service skills trainings at regular intervals.
• Host team-building sessions on a quarterly basis, both on-site and off-site, to improve intradepartmental relationships. Such activities will build trust and empathy between the team members.
• Discuss challenges as well as possible solutions openly. Guide the team towards focusing on what works.
• Carry out one-on-one goal-setting and evaluation meetings with individual team members. Work with each employee to set clear goals for their role as well as growth within the organisation. Employees must believe they have a future with a company, otherwise, uncertainty will translate into a lacklustre on-the-job performance.
• As a manager, you have to realise the importance of being in tune with your employees. Whenever possible, foster direct rapport with your team members by asking about their loved ones, keeping track of their hobbies, and  inquiring about their health.

Customer-centric teams prioritize a balanced and professional attitude under all circumstances. To run a successful business, an organisation must  be open to external as well as internal feedback. Anonymous ‘virtual’ suggestion boxes can persuade team members to share their concerns without the fear of repercussion or office politics. By zeroing in on what the team thinks and feels, management can make the necessary changes to keep their employees motivated and focused.