Bad customer service getting more expensive

“A customer who gets good service will tell one person yet a
customer who gets bad service will tell 10 people”

How true is that today? Does that include conversations held in person? What about emails, instant messaging, twitter, blogs, forums. Etc? With newer forms of communication, the complaints or issues become indexed, searchable, and stored for others to find or receive at the time they are thinking about your business.

Websites like planetfeedback.com, consumerist.com, and my3cents.com drive their traffic and ad revenue from complaints. Making issues searchable by of type service, date, and company ensures that they will receive the attention of an increasing population that researches their purchases.

Re-investing in your customer facing operations is a great way to inoculate yourself against these trends. Focus on what your employees need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Empower them with responsibilities anchored in a strong company ethos.