How many of you think that good customer service will result in more referrals for your business?

It’s a valid question. I hear a lot of companies say they have great customer service and it’s one of the reasons we should be using them. Some businesses brag about it in their TV ads. How they always put the customer first. Or our customers are why we do what we do. etc, etc.

Why do they do that? Do they need to tell people they have good customer service because they’re trying to justify why they charge more or to cover up for other failings? Is it because they can’t think of another reason for us to do business with them? Or maybe, and I think this is probably the case, to try to look better than the competition by implying they don’t.

Companies are focusing more and more on customer service. The spend a great deal of time, money, and effort on resources to improve their customer service so they can keep the customers they have, especially with the competition out there, and to try and get new customers that are unhappy with whomever they’re currently using.

Let’s face it, it’s ridiculous. Are you telling me that for years, decades or even centuries, that offering good customer service was something companies tried to avoid?

No one goes out there to provide terrible customer service, though I do think Monty Python could have made a great sketch about a business that offers it. The Dead Parrot comes close though.