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 says.
"Businesses are losing business they can't afford to lose," she says, 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 says, "primarily because of technology."
Source: CRM Daily, http://www.crm-daily.com