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Top Customer Service Don'ts

Customers, the heart of any organization, are hard to get -- but easy to lose. A Better Business Bureau survey found that customers are most offended, frustrated--and driven away--by the following types of behavior.

• "I don't care." Often, on-the-job boredom translates into an attitude of indifference that is quickly recognized by customers. But there is no room for apathy when you are in business to provide service.
• Pass the buck. A customer who gets passed along from one employee to another inevitably grows impatient when asked to explain his or her problem over and over again. Don't give customers the run-around. Make the effort to find the answer yourself, even if it isn't exactly your responsibility.
• The brush-off. If the customer's problem is difficult to solve, a slap-dash response may let the employee off the hook, but it doesn't address the customer's concern.
• "Don't bother me now." If you perceive the customer as a nuisance, it will show up as impatience or even rudeness in your body language and tone of voice.
• The rule-book. The service person who stands on the rules, rather than using common sense -- and even making an exemption when called for -- leaves an impression that the customer's satisfaction is unimportant.
• Patronizing the patron. Treating the customer with condescension -- acting as if he or she is unable to understand what's being explained -- will anger even the most forgiving customers.

Whatever your responsibilities, your top priority should be to act with courtesy and professionalism.

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