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Good Customer Service Pays

Big Dividends!

Each year millions of dollars are spent on marketing and promotions by companies large and small. Often the decision to spend these funds on advertising and promotions is based on a lot of factors.

A standout reason is often to bring in more customers. However, there is one often overlooked BIG and very inexpensive way to bring in more customers … good customer service!

Good customer service pays BIG dividends and here are some of the ways it pays.

First, customers expect good customer service from the company they’re doing business with. Customers will remember the experience long after they have forgotten what they bought or didn’t buy. Poor service leaves a bad “taste in one’s mouth”.

Secondly, when the service is “bad”, customers begin to think the products are bad also. Now, their attention starts to focus on the whole company. Maybe, the people are “bad” that works there. Maybe the products are hiding defects they may not know about. Maybe there some other unknowns going on. Then, the minds start to invent things and share these negative and often unfounded conclusions with friends and/or relatives. The downhill spiral has no bottom.

Thirdly, Good customer service shows you care. It’s important not to forget the one part of business that’s determines the business success. The customer isn’t always “right”, but they’re “never wrong”. They may not understand all of the facts or maybe having a bad day. Business owners and employees are always in the position to make things “right”. Going beyond the limits and try to make things “right”, that is satisfy the customer.

What a lesson we all learned about “bad” customer service when a passenger experienced first hand an airline customer service DNA. This has got to rank high of the list for the worst customer service in recent memory.

In 2017 a major airline felt the need to literally have law enforcement come on board an airliner and “drag a customer” down the isle and off an airplane (https://bit.ly/2qpyWMe) which resulted physical bodily injury, medical bills and apology from the CEO and others. The customer turned out to be a medical doctor with plenty of friends, associates and a legal team. After the fact, the airline realized there should have been a better way to handle the situation. “Bad” customer service cost them BIG!

Then there’s the story of the “debt buyer”, that is, a company who buys outstanding debt for pennies on the dollar and goes after the original “borrower” for full payment.

Not finding a way to collect the “debt” because the “borrower” has no way to pay the “debt”. They said they have been threaten by unknown people into paying. They’ve received many email and verbal threats over the phone. Harassing and threatening messages have been received daily.

When the “borrower” became part of a group who wanted to help the community, the alleged “debt buyer” group partners with a well-known “website security” company and other “unknown Actors” who actually contacts the “borrower” and informs them of malware on the websites. Malware they put on that company’s websites and all of the sites on the server and tries to extort hundreds of dollars per month for several years via a contract … from the “borrower” to keep the malware off the websites.

In the process they destroyed all of the websites on the server as a “lesson”. Still not getting paid they systematically destroys the websites over and over again over a period of many months. Still not getting paid, because there is no money, the activities, as we understand, are ongoing.

Then, the tactics changed. The harassing group of “actors” including the well-known “website security” company who joined in, allegedly sent out over 17,410 phishing emails and hacked then destroyed two computers in less than two years. Not giving up, people from different businesses started sending harassing emails. The victims of this malicious activity felt like all their friends (perpetrators) were joining. They said they felt like the group had a meeting with all of their friends and they all all agreed to join in.

Next, an automobile was broken into right in the driveway one night (video proof) looking for “something” of value or other malicious activity. Their home was burglarized (video proof) by the same group of perpetrators. Jewelry and many items that could be sold for cash and other valuables were stolen.

The family was the victim of what they called “aggravated stalking” around the clock while on vacation with what they believed was a money-grab move or hoping to find something of value to collect or use to “get paid”.

With non of those tactics working, they turned their attention back to the online programs. By now volunteers have put the websites back online only to find the hacking activities have continued.

The hackers, actors, a well-known “website security” company and the “debt buyer” have had an ongoing “cyber crimes” campaign for over two years. Of special note has been the ongoing attempts to break into the sites 24 hours per day over 11,375 times in 19 months (sometimes over 300 attempts a day).

The amount of the original “debt” was very small, just a few hundred dollars. The damage caused is into the thousands. According to person who borrowed the money back in the mid 2000s, the debt went unpaid because of the Great Recession of 2008-09 and was sold by the bank for pennies on the dollar, when millions of people lost almost everything.

Now over 10 years later the “debt buyer” and the well-known “website security” company (who started the online destruction) and other unknown parties have continued their alleged hacking and criminal activities. This appears to be an ongoing situation, so we will update as we learn more. We’re amazed at the way customers are viewed by some companies. How about this for (bad) customer service, to turn to criminal behavior to collect a debt!

Now it appears a break in the case is imminent. Video has surfaced of the “crimes” in progress. Plus a person close to one of the people involved has come forward anonymously with details of some of what has been going on. We’ll update soon.

Good customer service pays … when it is a part of the company culture. When the company’s DNA is less than desired with plenty of complaints from customers the money coming in starts to slow down. Now the bills and wages start to suffer with layoffs to soon follow. Then the rent or lease starts to get behind. Soon the store hours are cut. Sooner rather than later, it’s closed for good. “Bad” customer service cost and cost BIG.

Good customer service is one of the best marketing tools. When you have good customer service you can “scream it from the rooftops”. Include it in your advertisements and promotions. When your customers see it in print or online they will agree it’s true and refer their friends (more sales). Good customer service pays BIG dividends.

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