Companies takes note! My top 5 things that make up great customer service!

Presented by Virgin Mobile Canada

If there is one thing that we can agree on it’s that as Canadians we expect good customer service experiences when dealing with brands, According to a new study Virgin Mobile Canada commissioned with Vision Critical last month, 97% of Canadians surveyed say they’re more likely to stay with a brand if they provide them with good customer service and 95% say they would take their business elsewhere if they weren’t getting good customer service. Canadians know what they want when it comes to customer service and they can see right through the lip service some brands are providing. My friends lip service is something we have become all too familiar with lately. As they say, actions speak louder than words.

I have had many dealings with customer service over the years, some that I have talked about on this very blog. Some good, some not so good.

Virgin Mobile’s survey found that all the top responses on what defines good customer service has to do with the staff, including staff who go above and beyond (17%), problem-solving staff (16%), friendly and courteous staff (15%) and knowledgeable staff (15%).

Here are my top 5 things that make up great customer service:

Not treating the customer like an inconvenience:

There are millions of people doing customer service jobs, and treating them and the people they service like work. Sorry to have inconvenienced you when I called the customer service line to receive…customer service. There have been many instances when I am made to feel like a big inconvenience by the person whose job it is to help me. How that is even allowed?

Hello real person!

When I am having an issue and I call a customer service line, I want to talk to a real person. The biggest turn off for Canadians when it comes to customer service is not being able to speak to an actual person (70%). I don’t want to have to listen to and select choices from 20 automated menus. Mostly because it’s annoying and I don’t have time for that, but in other cases it’s because I actually don’t know what my problem falls under, I hit the wrong button and then I have to start again. Don’t tell me that you have never sat on the phone yelling at the automated voice “I JUST WANT TO TALK TO SOMEONE REAL!” And if you are going to have an automated voice, it should be Morgan Freeman’s, that’s just a given. Fun fact, 40% of Canadians have said their ideal automated voice sounds like Morgan Freeman.

You don’t know? Find someone who does!

Nothing worse than finally getting through a customer service line to a real person and having them say they don’t know how to fix your problem. Not everyone can answer every question, but “I don’t know” just doesn’t work for me. Put me on hold and ask a colleague; transfer me to someone you know will (not someone who you have no idea if they will and I get the same response from them as well) or tell me you will find out the answer for me and you will call me back (and then actually do it). “I don’t know” is a lazy phrase. Let’s get rid of it and replace it with “Let me find out”. Be a problem solver, not a rage creator.

Apologizing for bad experiences!

If I am calling you because something happened with your product or service and I am angry – apologize (in a sincere way) and then help me. The worst thing that you can do is tell me that it is my fault. Deep inside I probably know it’s true, but don’t throw it in my face. That helps no one.

Above and beyond!

The best customer service I have had over the years has been in direct correlation with customer service representatives that I feel have gone above and beyond to make sure I have a good experience. The ones who say, “Well normally that is not what we do, but I’ll see if I can work around it” – and then they do. I also appreciate when I get put through to a tech person and they are also able to help me with a small billing issue that I forgot I had. Win-win.

Canadians tend to define good customer service based on the people they deal with, and the consistency of the service. That’s right; what Canadians know is good customer service means talking to someone who genuinely cares, takes their issue seriously and resolves it quickly. This is exactly what Virgin Mobile has been hustling to deliver to Members every day for the past 10 years Great service gets noticed. Earlier this month, Virgin Mobile Canada was awarded the title of Highest Ranked Purchase Experience among Wireless Providers” in the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Wireless Purchase Experience StudySM “[1] ”

I don’t often hear Virgin Mobile touting amazing customer service, but their Members know they give it. Virgin Mobile is celebrating 10 years of customer service this year (customer service – not lip service).

To celebrate their anniversary and their dedicated customer service team, Virgin Mobile has created a cool celebratory video. Check it out here:

[1] J.D Power Disclaimer: Virgin Mobile received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Wireless Purchase Experience Study.SM Study based on responses from 5,120 consumers, includes 8 wireless providers, and measures opinions of consumers who purchased a wireless product or service within the last 12 months. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed October 2014-March 2015. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com