Worst Side Effects of Bad Customer Service

We are all human, and mistakes happen. But when it comes to customer service, there's a difference between an honest mistake and bad customer service. Learn the worst side effects of bad customer service and how to avoid them for your business or organization.

We will explore how to deal with situations like waiting too long on hold, not getting your issue solved during one call, having to repeat yourself multiple times, and more! Armed with this knowledge and our tips, we hope that your next interaction with a company goes much smoother than before!

What are the Worst Side Effects of Bad Customer Service?

There are so many potential negative outcomes associated with bad customer service it's difficult to pinpoint just one. However, in their 2019 Customer Service Survey, Temkin Group identified the five worst side effects of bad customer service:

1. It erodes trust in your brand

2. Employees lack motivation

3. It increases internal conflict

4 . It hurts relationships with customers

5. It makes you lose business

Here are just a few of the most common problems with bad customer service:

- Customers feel powerless and frustrated because they can't get their problem solved.

- Customers feel tricked or deceived because a company promised something but didn't deliver.

- Customers feel like time is being wasted when they have to repeat themselves numerous times, put on hold, etc.

- Customers end up feeling belittled, disrespected, and humiliated.

- Customers become so enraged they feel like yelling, swearing, or fighting with the company's employees — which doesn't do anyone any good.

- If a customer is particularly unhappy and decides to take their business elsewhere for future purchases, that means lost money and growth for the company that just can't seem to get it right.

- Customers feel let down after investing their time and energy on a company's product only to find out that what they were sold isn't quite what they expected.

- Customers grow weary of being on the receiving end of an endless runaround where nothing gets accomplished, no matter how hard they try.

- Customers feel like their problems are being ignored unless they follow up with the company in question…over and over.

- Customers are often turned off by shady sales practices where they feel like they're being forced to buy something, whether it's their choice or not.

- Customers can even be discouraged when they have to deal with rude employees that simply don't care about getting their issue resolved.

- Our list goes on and on…and it's not very pretty.

Yes, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong when a customer is trying to get their issue resolved through your company, and we've detailed many of them here for you so you know exactly what type of solutions you need to offer up to prevent these bad side effects of bad customer service.

Confusion and Frustration

By not knowing exactly what's going on with their account, customers can grow more and more frustrated and confused the longer the problem takes to get resolved and noted and it will certainly be reflected in their tone when they call you, or worse yet when they chat with you on the web.

Frustration and Anger

Once customers feel like they've been left in the dark and that there's no way out of their problem, an unfortunate side effect of bad customer service is frustration and anger — even if it's not directed at you — which can result in them cursing up a storm and having a meltdown on the other end of the line.

Loss of Trust

When customers feel that they haven't been taken care of by you, their customer service/tech support representative, they will probably think twice about doing business with your company in the future and might review you poorly on sites like Yelp and others — ultimately damaging your brand's reputation.

Permanently Damaged Relationships

Whether it's with someone you care about or a disgruntled customer, the results of bad customer service are often the same — permanent damage to your relationship that can't be undone or repaired easily. The best thing you can do is apologize and promise to do better next time, but also be sure to work on immediate solutions and ensure that negative experiences don't happen again.

Bad customer service is alive and well today, and it's doing your company more harm than good — whether you know it or not. If you don't want to be known as the company with bad customer service – or worse, if you don't want to tarnish your brand – you need to take a serious look at the companies that are doing it successfully and find out what they're doing right.

How To Avoid Bad Customer Service

There are two ways to avoid these negative results: Either fix your customer service or hire someone who can. Don't put off investing in great customer service; it has the potential to leave a lasting, positive impression on your customers.

1) Improve your customer service as soon as possible

2) Hire a professional to improve it for you

This article is intended to provide interested parties with general information and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. It has been prepared from sources believed reliable and at the time of writing was believed accurate, but no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and it does not purport to be complete. Please, therefore, consult a professional adviser as to any issues relating to this article. Insofar as the law permits, I exclude all liability for any error or omission in this information and I do not accept responsibility for the consequences of actions taken based on the information provided. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance upon any part of the information without first obtaining and following professional advice.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed reading about what can happen when customer service is done wrong, and how to avoid it to have a happy customer base that keeps coming back for more! The best way to avoid these negative side effects is by providing your customers with the highest level of customer service possible. To learn more about how you can do this, contact us today!