Most Epic Customer Service Fails and What Brands Should Learn From Them

# Most Epic Customer Service Fails and What Brands Should Learn From Them   <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-pzmGSfFuLk36pWFK5Wgw9y-OHA8brep6K1438fhgT4H3dwDUSGpj6Iu4eSJsPKdjuUR_NoZsU48rhwl6Q6uWNquiJViSDnMEOVG_lHvc8l5YdmrJos8RBb37Ix3vLejDNZi0Ot1tYzoDg4_0iulWB20U_NZbRSPGHXXZtKI06QmvMi1v1yvuTzDNFw=s663" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="663" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-pzmGSfFuLk36pWFK5Wgw9y-OHA8brep6K1438fhgT4H3dwDUSGpj6Iu4eSJsPKdjuUR_NoZsU48rhwl6Q6uWNquiJViSDnMEOVG_lHvc8l5YdmrJos8RBb37Ix3vLejDNZi0Ot1tYzoDg4_0iulWB20U_NZbRSPGHXXZtKI06QmvMi1v1yvuTzDNFw=w523-h337" width="523" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A customer support representative has never, in the history of time, woken up in the morning, rubbed the sleep from their eyes, and said to themselves, “I commit that I’ll give terrible customer service at work today.” Yet inadequate customer support happens every day. Sometimes, in ways that are blindingly obvious and more often in subtle ways. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leaders of the customer support teams should be able to correct these failures. But such corrections require language, concepts, and strategies. Just saying “you could’ve done better out there with that customer” isn’t super-helpful. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here, I have compiled a list of major customer service fails and why they fail. I have also included some key takeaways that you can learn from to avoid similar customer service failures for your brand. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I begin sharing our findings, here is a quick psychology lesson about customers and their behavior in general: <ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"> <li> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They buy from you because they like your products. </li> <li> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They follow you on social media because they like the content you post. </li> <li> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’ll reshare your content, whether funny, ridiculous, or newsworthy. But, it can get more personal than this. </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then there will be those rare occasions where they’ll actually compose a tweet about your company. This means that they’re probably feeling one of two things: <ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"> <li> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’re pissed off with your services </li> <li> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’re freaking furious! This means they’re on the verge of leaving. </li> </ul> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If they’re extremely pissed, you could find yourself featured in a blog post that details all the horrible things your customers would prefer to do instead of buying from you again. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I could come up with a long-winded list of company-customer interactions gone wrong. But why take up any more of the time you’ve already wasted agonizing over customer service? Here are some common customer service fails and how to prevent them from happening: <ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer Empathy At Its Lowest</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section2" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Perils of Automated Chatbots</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section3" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lack of Customer-Focussed Service</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section4" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Listening is Not Enough; You Must Take Actions</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section5" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Longer Wait Time</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section6" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lesser Channels To Communicate</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/#section7" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lack of Proactive Customer Service</a> </li> </ul> <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Customer Empathy At Its Lowest</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Customer Empathy At Its Lowest" height="292" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AaYXFfIBpjTqOB_PeY97nhOJJCetWf5cAFXO95PW9kbqhnEkNhNf6Dfui7sU49x8tBYSr-ZI8lrZxGXzez4S3fTpOq39zo5YyG7iMMICxXUkm15NFFUyTAMxnu9GpGjlf3n6k0ge" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /> <a href="https://www.cgsinc.com/blog/5-most-epic-customer-service-fails-all-time" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Verizon continues to bill woman for her dead father’s account</a> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Cynthia Lacy’s father passed away in December 2009, she got in touch with Verizon to get his cell phone account canceled. Verizon refused to take any action because she could not supply his PIN number. She then tried showing her father’s death certificate. That didn’t work either. Furthermore, Verizon continued to bill her until March 2010, after which Lacy went to press with her story. It was only then that Verizon canceled the account and even refunded her. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is probably a huge customer service fail, and I would not want to buy services from brands that treat their customers so ruthlessly. <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now I agree that you might say, “But what about the customer policies. If they require the PIN number to cancel the subscription, she should have just taken care of it.” I have one thing to say to you: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read about customer empathy! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer empathy is a universal language that you, as a customer support manager, must understand! It is not about framing specific strategies. You cannot quantify it using a formula and then teach it to your support agents. Organizations that put customers at the center of everything and rely on human insights to inform will fundamentally thrive more than the ones that don’t. <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. The Perils of Automated Chatbots</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Perils of Automated Chatbots" height="312" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3rzRApI7gHIjayXj-6_EnC7eXem8L8VKSOx6EdVahQy6Q0RIoBzAI8FxBLuD2lwkdVletGBQ-OYRiOHeJbmkOfn21iuW8gJQRe8rPPPeRx0Zdao2M5O73vJHVARfbLaHyLacSmoB" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /> <a href="https://talkroute.com/when-customer-service-fails-its-actually-pretty-entertaining/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Perils of Automated Chatbots by AT&T</a> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here goes the age-old debate: Whether automated chatbots are a lost cause or not. This is a classic customer service failure example that proves that automated chatbots, if not put to use correctly, maybe a lost cause. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not asking you to not have automated responses as a part of your support team. But, you can make better use of it. Your chatbots are supposed to hold the conversation until your agents are available. They’re supposed to support the customers until you support reps are available. If not done appropriately, this is what happens. <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway:</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chatbots are pretty trending these days. Chatbots make it easier for customers to get answers on the fly. This discourages the customers from raising issues on social media platforms, calls, or emails. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, you need to pick the right chatbot. You need to be aware that your customers do not fall prey to too much automation. Even with your chatbots, you can keep the messages friendly and empathetic. Make sure your chatbots do not hold your customers for long and that the service agent can take over as soon as possible. <h6 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -8pt 0pt 30pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Avoid Customer Service Fails</h6> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let DeskXpand’s features like self-service, live chats, SLAs, etc. take care of your customers while you and your team are away. <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/pricing/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TAKE A FREE TRIAL NOW</a> <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Lack of Customer-Focussed Service</h2>   <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are two different but similar customer service fails that should never happen! The bare minimum a customer expects from a brand is that they listen to them and provide timely services. Many brands are active and empathetic while pitching their products and services. But when it comes to things like refunds, they take gazillions of years to process that. Also, sometimes minor queries take longer to resolve, and priorities get messed up. But as a brand, you should be able to conquer this as soon as possible. Do not wait for the customer to get frustrated and leave you. <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These issues only happen if you do not have the priorities managed at the customer end. Use appropriate tools for priority management. Enabling various SLAs (service level agreements) will help you prioritize issues and set certain rules and regulations. It’ll also help you make sure that those rules are followed. <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Listening is Not Enough; You Must Take Actions</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is entirely my personal experience with Amazon. I keep trying new dog foods as my dog gets bored eating the same thing. So, I was looking for dog treats and saw this brand on Amazon. The food description seemed fine, and it was ranked first on Amazon’s list. The experience, however, turned out to be pathetic. My dog went sick and had a bad stomach for a week. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Listening is Not Enough" height="375" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/KGqt95LgzAM_fjMROWDvHHfW0P4lxtIovaML3LfzNLhA83QjDDZuT8Q-Zp_mQAJpInccQdidVqCxxnDpLWR86v4M-2mVbOVxhCJXYWA7B9X4IftzRnKhVHWpw7DMkNWhEp5Kt_m6" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was so pissed at Amazon for ranking an absolutely horrible product that was life-endangering. What I found next was even more shocking. I checked the reviews of that product, and there were 3-4k+ negative reviews of that product. Everyone had the same issues; their dog felt sick after eating the product. So I talked to Amazon’s customer support team, and eventually, they offered me a complete refund. I asked them to report the issue at large and take it forward as well. The support agent assured me that they would take it further. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Six months hence, the product is still ranking at the first position, and the negative reviews keep adding. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Sigh* <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guess who’s never buying essentials from Amazon anymore! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They did try to retain me (as a customer) by providing a full refund. But, some things are above money. Some things are purely about the experience, after-effect, and the brand’s response towards that problem. And as far as I know, a brand should not be promoting any life-endangering products just for profit. <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are two takeaways from this: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay true to your brand. Your branding, marketing, etc., will not work if your products are not upto the mark (in this case, they’re edible and not a danger to health.) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second lesson comes from the eCommerce site, i.e., Amazon. Sometimes certain things are more important than money. Sometimes you need to do so much more than just listen. You need to act and take stricter actions, too, if needed. You cannot let your website promote life-endangering products. Imagine what impression it will leave on your customers. <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Longer Wait Time</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Longer Wait Time" height="260" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/80aMmrGJo8HWwFPSJxmSyJMJ5GbaRaM0Npts5320uhdirb4x0NWupSywHWDOqJNBFOWtTZlKAPcAEjucwaNiXubYacGBBcBXD81nKk7cS8E4Ms6DEK_F2reMfnDUkGgXkG3jScb0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="457" /> <a href="http://ow.ly/i/g52D5" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source</a> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No customer wants to wait longer and definitely not on the call. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Look at this customer; they’re not just disappointed in a single brand. But, disappointed with the collective experience they have had with multiple brands. This shows that brands must change their standards of services because the customers ask for it! <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work on your response time policies. Be it first response, second response, or even feedback. The customers deserve quick and apt responses. They do not deserve to have to wait, worse, ignored. Even if your services take longer, it is a good idea to keep the customer in the loop and keep updating them with the truth. <h6 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -8pt 0pt 30pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reduce Customer Wait Time by Streamlining Your Support</h6> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use DeskXpand’s robust helpdesk features to simplify operation at the support end. Decide and set priorities and keep your customers happy. <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/pricing/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TAKE A FREE TRIAL NOW</a> <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Lesser Channels To Communicate</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This customer service fail is the winner of all the customer service fails in the world. Your customer’s bad experience should never narrow down to this that they’re not able to contact you at all. And that too for ten days? Never! <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 15pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key Takeaway</h3> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only takeaway from this incident can be providing as many mediums of communication as possible. Either you hire more customer support agents, or you streamline your support. The wise way to go about this would be to adopt an omnichannel approach. An omnichannel communication system will ensure that your team does not miss even a single query. <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Lack of Proactive Customer Service</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proactivity is the foundation of an ideal <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/how-to-implement-proactive-customer-service/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">customer service strategy</a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If you want your customers to know the actual value of your company, you should communicate with them regularly. Investing in the latest technology tools will allow you to answer your customers’ questions and build a solid relationship with them. Offering support throughout their customer journey is your secret weapon to making them feel valued. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s a very bizarre customer service fail due to a lack of proactive customer service by the brand Target. A few years ago, Target, a retail brand, experienced a situation where a Facebook user started a new page posing as Target’s customer service team. They would respond to posts on Target’s page and mock customers who had complaints about the company’s new, gender-neutral signage. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="Customer Support-Target" height="392" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/66nFXGOMTlUrY5dbOItQKJ181DDDmReL6kZbA58A03xB8H5LuKo9Yz0LNKHQ3SGGXj3vYkGbyfpck1tZpPrvrFC0RY5vVwMQzFRUjo7TjLE3TmuUJGbLxVR7Uu_gSNSkCmzmZ77u" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="550" /> <a href="https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/fake-target-account-answers-facebook-gripes/291-221536808" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #644fe0; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer Support – Target</a> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The account was not sanctioned by Target, and people were mistaking it for the company’s actual customer service team. So, the Facebook user could post statements that did not reflect the brand’s values. In this scenario, Target could have been proactive to monitor their social media channels and find out this issue. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though they might not have stopped this user from creating a fake account, they would have caught it sooner and could have prevented it from going viral and causing controversy. <h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16.5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Actions Speak Louder Than Strategies On Paper</h2> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope these customer service failure examples were able to provide useful insights for you to prevent customer service fails for your brand. Good customer support can generate delightful customer experiences if done right. If your company can effectively support customers on all channels, you’ll generate positive engagement for your business. But, sometimes, customer support can also be unforgiving. If your reps are not equipped to handle customer demands or are not sure how to communicate on the platform, it can harm your customer experience and eventually revenue. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We live in the age of customer-centricity. So much so that the idea of a customer service snafu going viral is a nightmare for most brands. One bad experience can spread uncontrollably across social media. It can cause your brand a total erosion of trust and reputation if the damage control is not done frantically. This loss of brand trust and a damaged reputation are just the first few effects of viral customer service fails. Sometimes, even after the best efforts from the entire support team, it could lead to loss of revenue over time and can negatively impact the bottom line. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the contrary, a delightful customer experience creates brand loyalty. Customers return to a brand when they recall having a great experience interacting with the brand. In the end, everything narrows down to how well things are at the support end. Let DeskXpand take care of that. Take a free trial. <h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2.04545; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -19pt 0pt 8pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Article is Originally Published On:</h3> <a href="https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Calibri,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.deskxpand.com/blog/customer-service-fails-to-learn-from/</a>