I left off by saying that maybe this is a self-induced problem, and maybe it’s also a question of Customer Loyalty, not just Customer Service.

What I mean by a “self-induced” problem is that it seems like consumers in America are choosing to purchase their goods from whichever store has the lowest price, and that nothing else matters.  Many stores sell their goods at extremely low prices, especially online stores.  Well, there’s a cost involved with providing great service, and a great environment, whether it’s online or brick and mortar, and it can be difficult to balance great service with the lowest price.  Some can pull it off, but most can’t manage to do both and stay in business.  Many stores sell items at a very low cost because they have nothing else to offer, and they have no intentions of taking care of you when your item breaks, or when you have a question about how to make something work, or your item does not do what you thought it would and you’d like to exchange it for something else.  Speaking to someone that knows what he’s talking about and is happy to help walk you through something, or dealing with a company that wants to make sure you’re happy with your purchase, these things have a definite value, but consumers have devalued these items in favor of the lowest price.

This causes companies to have to scale back and they’re not able to provide the customer service you deserve.  Or the company has to have their products manuctured overseas and it’s not built to the standards we deserve and expect, but if they don’t do that, they can’t afford to stay in business.

It’s no doubt that consumers will tell you that they want great customer service, but their buying decisions tell you otherwise.  Then people don’t understand when they receive terrible service, or when the toy they purchased for their child makes them sick.  That’s what I mean about customer loyalty.  As consumers, we can support those companies that provide great service.  There’s still some companies that offer great service, although they are definitely fewer and fewer.  If we continue to shop based only on the lowest price, then this trend will continue and customer service will be gone.

I’m not suggesting that we owe it to a company to give them our hard earned dollars.  But I also think that if we become 100% focused on finding the absolute lowest cost, that we’re supporting the growth of companies that will continue to take advantage of people by offering terrible service, and that we will be left with no stores that can offer great service.

I spent the majority of my time in retail working for a retailer that was focused on customer service.  We had a very large base of loyal customers that would not shop anywhere else because they would rarely find the same level of service and knowledge that they found at our store.  We started getting people coming in with prices from Ebay and other unknown internet companies, wanting to get these items for the same price, and we just couldn’t match many of those prices, because after the purchase, they’d want us to go to their house and set things up, or they’d want to spend a lot of time showing them how to use their new equipment, etc.  You just can’t afford to do that as a business if you’re not making any money on something…but that’s the climate we’re in now, and slowly the company started closing stores.  The last store I worked at that we closed has been in the same location for over 20 years, and customers were coming in that were so sad to see us leave, and they were asking ‘where will I shop now?’  For many people service is still important, but many people just don’t want to pay for it, and that’s where the tough part comes in.

Is it possible to provide great service and low price, and still be in business?  Sounds like a good place to leave off, and we’ll talk about that next time.