How do you handle customer service  issues?

Prevent them before they happen.

Chances are, aside from one-off craziness, most of these issues are something you’ve dealt with before.

They’re probably something you see a lot.

They might be something you’re causing without even realizing it.

Maybe people tend to get angry when their subscription renews because they forgot about the payment.

The standard approach is to “handle” the issue.

Maybe you’ve got some procedure for dealing with angry customers. Calming them down. Refunding them and apologizing…

Maybe after a certain number of swear words or death threats, the rep is “allowed” to hang up on them. Maybe if they scream and yell enough, you give in and give them a refund.

The issue is technically “handled,” but nothing has been fixed.

You’ll see the same issue again, probably hundreds of times, and someone will again have to “handle” it.

Paying outsourced reps, especially in other parts of the world, can be VERY affordable, but this is still a waste of everyone’s time.

You’re creating the kind of tedious, mind numbing work that NOBODY should be doing. Not if it can be avoided.

And in most cases, it can easily be avoided. You just have to think differently.

Conventional customer service is broken.

It’s just bolted on as an afterthought. Issues come up, and someone needs to “handle” them.

Like it or not, customer service is a key part of your business. It is another factor that needs to be considered at every step.

I know what you’re thinking… This sounds like a bunch of sappy bullshit, I want to make money!

You’re right. I’m on your side!

I’m not here to tell you the customer is always right, or that their feelings matter, or anything like that. These things may be true, but the goal here is to run a profitable business.

And one thing a profitable business needs is… customers.

Customers who are happy enough to keep buying from you, not demand refunds, and not waste the time of your customer service department.

Read up about the Pareto Principle. 80/20. Essentially, 20% of efforts result in 80% of benefits. 20% of problems result in 80% of customer service issues.

These ratios aren’t always exact, but they’re a good guideline.

Find and fix the 20% that causes 80% of your customer service issues.

Get that stuff off your team’s plate, and let them focus on the remaining 20% of one off issues that can’t be ignored. The one off stuff.

You know, providing good service, not just putting out fires.

This decreases the stress and overwhelm on your team. It also VASTLY decreases your management time and cost.

Your people can handle it, so they don’t need to bother you.

That was my philosophy when I ran customer service for James Altucher’s businesses for the past couple years.

And it worked.

Some customer service issues are inevitable, but a lot can also easily be prevented before they happen.

Happier customers, less hassle, more money.

Remember 80/20.