Is poor customer service a big problem for a company?
Malcolm says:
It could represent a big problem but I want to raise a “Not always” flag. What customers want is to be treated consistently. That can be consistently good or consistently bad.
The classic example of a highly successful company that consistently treats its customers “badly” compared to competitors is Ryanair. They are successful while customers know that they are not going to be treated well if anything goes wrong. They accept it as normal and of course like Ryanair prices and other aspects of their services.
Imagine what would happen if Ryanair suddenly started providing excellent customer service. Customer would immediately be thinking what’s going on, where is the catch? Customers want consistency. Of course there is nothing wrong with getting consistently better but make sure that you understand what it important to your customers before you do anything. If you don’t you might just find out that conventional wisdom is wrong.