Bad Customer Service Costs Businesses Billions Of Dollars

Businesses are losing $62 billion per year through poor customer service. That’s up $20 billion since 2013, just three years ago!

This shocking, even frightening, statistic comes to us from our friends at NewVoiceMedia, and they should know. They work with the customer support departments of companies in more than 128 countries. They asked more than 2,000 adults from the United States the following question:

Have you switched to a different business as a result of poor customer service?

The result was that 49% of respondents reported switching, and of those, 67% switched more than once. The main reasons were that the customers felt unappreciated, encountered unhelpful/rude staff, were redirected to multiple agents, were not able to speak to a person on the phone, were not able to get answers and were put on hold for too long.

Another interesting stat was that the baby-boomer generation (55 or older) were least likely to switch, with only 27% indicating that they would switch as a result of poor service. Of the 25- to 34-year-olds, referred to as the millennial generation, 62% were willing to switch.

It’s not hard to figure out the implications of this. If you don’t provide a good customer service experience, someone else out there is going to gain half of your existing customers.

For many companies, the big problem is in the customer support center. And it’s not just phone calls. Today, there are multiple channels that customers can use to reach out to the companies they do business with. Many customers are finding the phone to be a problem for the reasons listed above. So, they turn to other channels such as instant chat, email, social media and self-service solutions.

Even if your company doesn’t have a customer support center, you are not immune from losing business due to bad customer service. Every statistic and fact out there indicates that service gives any company a competitive advantage, and the lack of it can be the demise of the business.

So, how can you keep from falling victim to the defecting customer? What customers want is what you would expect. There are no big surprises. It’s common sense, which, unfortunately, is not always so common. What customers want is simple.

1. Customers want an easy experience. No hassle and no friction. And, if there is a problem, they want to know that the company they are doing business with will take care of them. I often ask my clients, “How easy are you to do business with?” Many times there are processes in place that are more company-focused than client-focused. A good customer journey map will identify any potential friction that the customer could experience and work to eliminate or mitigate those potential problems.

2. Customers want to deal with knowledgeable people. They want their questions answered quickly and correctly – the first time. Knowledge creates confidence, and confidence can lead to customer loyalty.

3. Customers want a friendly experience. People want to be treated like people. After all, they are people – not account numbers. Use customers’ names whenever possible. Look for opportunities to build rapport and break the ice. Show that you care. That’s what friendly people (and businesses) do.

4. Customers want speedy service and a quick response. Customers like speed. For example, millions of customers are happy to pay $99 for the Amazon Prime membership that includes free two-day shipping. They are now ecstatic about two-hour. And, speed is especially important when it comes to customer support. Customers hate to wait on hold. And, then there are social media response times. In a recent survey from Eptica, the average response time for email from customers was an abysmal seven hours and 51 minutes! Customers who take the time to contact a company want an answer quickly, not eight hours later! And it’s even worse for Facebook – the average response time is one day, three hours and seven minutes. Responses on Twitter take longer yet, averaging one day, seven hours and 12 minutes. The best companies respond to social posts within minutes, not hours or days.

5. Customers want consistency. If there is one thing that will erode the customer’s confidence more than anything, it is a lack of consistency. Customers want a predictable, consistent and positive experience. My loyalty formula is as follows: Good customer service plus consistency creates the potential for customer loyalty.

It’s amazing that more companies don’t practice these basic tenants of customer service. Behind the scenes there may be systems and processes in place to support the customer service experience, but even the best of these can be destroyed by one employee who doesn’t treat the customer well. When customers do business with a company, they expect that their experience will be easy and that they will interact with knowledgeable people who are friendly and quick to respond. And, the next time they come back, they expect the experience to be the same as the last.

Put the right system in place, back it up with great people, and don’t join the ranks of the companies that are collectively losing $62 billion in business a year.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, keynote speaker and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.