Even though we all strive toward providing the best possible service, our efforts are not always enough to keep a customer satisfied and coming back. Sometimes, when a customer asks to cancel our service, we need to do so graciously and without adding any further duress to the customer. Recently, however, I was dumbfounded by a YouTube video in which a customer tries to cancel his Internet service with Comcast. For more than eight excruciating minutes, the Comcast employee refuses to disconnect the customer’s service. Click here to listen.
In the audio recording, you can hear how calm the customer remains throughout the interaction, even though the Comcast employee is belligerent, ridiculously rude, and
simply clueless. So, in order to add a silver lining to the poor customer’s experience, I’d like to turn this situation into a learning opportunity for the rest of us. While we spend a lot of time, effort, and money trying to retain customers, we often neglect refining our protocols for letting go of a customer when our services are no longer wanted, and there is nothing left for us to do other than to let go.
Many companies have retention teams that specialize in keeping customers. Unfortunately, sometimes a company’s retention process can cross the line into a bullying experience for customers. It is, therefore, imperative that retention teams know where the line is and not to cross it.
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Companies should NOT tie retention team members’ livelihood and paychecks to the amount of customers they “save.” Doing so can lead to bullying and bad press, which can give your company a terrible reputation. I have personally been bullied by a company to stay—only to regret it in the long run and again vowing to never return in the future.
- Have the right people in place. Dealing with irate customers all day takes a special person who understands people and what motivates them. Find team members who have an understanding heart and an “attitude of service” versus someone who focuses on competition only.
- Train your retention team on how to really listen to what the customer is saying and how to offer solutions that are relevant to the customer’s issue. When team members don’t acknowledge a customer’s concern and instead go off on different tangents, it gives the impression that employees don’t care and that the customer is just a number–and that is not only bad but also a reputation killer for your company.
Remember: Sometimes, letting customers go is the right thing to do. And when we do it right and with grace, respect, and dignity, we just may find them back later when their new vendor disappoints them. Now wouldn’t that be something more worthy to write about?
What do YOU do when customers want to leave your company? Please share in the comments sections below.