Defender of customer service

Bad customer service is rarely forgotten. In fact, the experience often gets repeated to friends and family. But on-the-job rudeness, unhelpfulness and inattention to customers are becoming the norm, says consultant Bobbi Paine, who specializes in teaching companies how to deliver exceptional customer service.

As a result, poor customer service is paralyzing American companies, she said.

“Businesses are losing business they can’t afford to lose,” she said, pointing to the results of a 2007 Harris Poll, which reported 80 percent of customers saying they will never return to a business after a negative customer-service experience. That’s up from 68 percent in 2006.

“We’ve lost touch with the personal side of customer service,” Paine said, “primarily because of technology.”

Paine’s interest in customer service started nearly 30 years ago when she was a teenager working at a guest ranch in Nathrop.

She has held several positions throughout her career, including senior manager for a leading support and customer-relations management company. Paine now offers training and workshops to businesses on the “soft skills” of customer service through her Monument-based company, Miner-Paine Solutions.

Question: Why do you say deteriorating customer service is due to technology?

Answer: We, as customers, have changed because of technology. Organizations have implemented self-service options, such as online services.

They are terrific when they work, but consumers get frustrated when they don’t work. So people on the front lines are dealing with more difficult situations. Outsourced, overseas call centers also have had a huge impact on customer service.

Q: What else has contributed to the situation?

A: Employers and employees aren’t taking the time to get to know who their customers are. Every time you pick up the phone or go to a restaurant, a store or the airport, you have a customer-service experience. Time and time again when I hear about outstanding customer service, the person was only doing their job. The reason the customer thought it was outstanding is because they were treated so poorly the last time.

Q: What are the effects of bad customer service?

A: Consumers are in control because they can go somewhere else. When we were a fullservice society, there wasn’t as much competition. There didn’t used to be a Starbucks, a gas station, a bank or a restaurant on every corner. Now, if I don’t like the service somewhere, I don’t have to go back. Surveys show people are willing to pay at least 10 percent more to get better service on a consistent basis.

Q: What does your “Service Essentials” training teach?

A: I help people understand how to know what your customer wants and how to properly respond. Customers want to know what you can do for them — not what you can’t do for them.

The classes are customized for each company and geared for different levels — front-line people, who are receptionists, wait staff, retail workers, anybody who is the company’s first contact with the public; and managers and supervisors.

Q: What is important for managers to know?

A: Customer service isn’t one size fits all. It needs to address what the company wants to accomplish. Managers need to be good role models in the way they handle customers. They need to hire people based on their customer-service skills, which aren’t just being happy and upbeat and having a smile.

Q: What can front-line employees benefit from knowing?

A: Not everybody has the same definition of customer service. Let go of the idea of treating people the way you want to be treated. You need to treat people the way they want to be treated. To find out customers’ needs, you need to actively listen to what they’re saying, read body language, pay attention to the tone of voice and ask open questions to gauge expectations.

Q: Does the rise of national chain stores have anything to do with the increase in poor customer service?

A: No, I don’t think it’s specific to chains or mom and pop businesses. People seem just as happy to go to chains and get exceptional customer service. I also don’t think it’s age related. I’ve seen some top-notch, professional 18-year-olds. It comes down to training, experience and having a good role model who knows the techniques of the trade.

Q: Your parting shot?

A: Customer service is what makes or breaks an organization. You can’t just take a Band-Aid approach — it has to be a real cultural change within the organization.

That means you need to invest in your people who have direct contact with customers, not just rewrite customer-satisfaction surveys to get the answers you want. A lot of organizations feel like customer service isn’t brain surgery, but I feel it is. It’s life or death.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com