Why does UK business accept poor customer service as the norm?
Even the word “customer service” has become a standard mantra for every company on the internet. I can’t remember where I first heard it – but I am pretty sure it was not around 20 years ago. When was the last time you heard a company advertise themselves as giving an average or mediocre service? It must be the easiest idiom to offer, but the hardest to deliver.
Only this morning I called a company (for the second time) whose services we need for some designs I want looked at. Having been greeted very politely on the phone, I was asked if a message could be left … again. Having remarked that a second message was probably not necessary as it would be a repeat of the first, the lady said “okay – bye” and put the phone down.
Frustrating though this is – we are in the same boat as everyone else. How often does a business change a service provider due to a poor relationship? I am the first to moan about my mobile phone provider not having a strong enough signal or our stationery supplier delivering two weeks later than promised. But, like every other company, we deem it too much trouble to change over to someone else.