Customer service mistakes to avoid as a business

Institute of Customer Experience board members Wavi Mungala and Sheila Mugusia chats with Chantel Botha the MD Brandlove (C) during their annual conference in Lake Naivasha Resort. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

The problem with great customer service is that everyone seems to think they know how to do it - it's a piece of cake, right? Wrong.

Here are five of the most frequent customer service mistakes.

Failing to empower employees to assist customers

Exceptional customer service requires room for interpretation, with talented, well-trained and fully empowered employees serving as the interpreters - those who decode and manifest what exceptional customer service looks like in action.

And if they aren't authorised to deliver exceptional customer service, they won't.

Reactive customer service rather than anticipatory

I'm sure you're very familiar with the baseline customer service equation: when a customer asks for something, you provide it. That's being reactive.

And while there's value in this approach, it's not enough to make a customer feel special, mention it to a friend or give a shout-out on social media.

Convincing customers that they're wrong

All too often, I see customer-facing employees trying to convince customers that they're wrong - that they're wrong to try to check into their room early, wrong to request an upgrade and wrong to tell a waiter that their steak is overdone.

Abusing language use in interactions with customers

Don't ever think using the right language with customers is no big deal; it's practically the whole ballgame in some situations.

Getting the language right at your business is crucial; words are our primary communication. (In this case, "right" means brand-appropriate, non-judgmental and empathetic.)

Thinking customer service training is a one-size-fits-all

Every company and context is different, and you can't reliably apply just one off-the-shelf program of customer service training and expect that and expect everyone to fully understand and retain the information you're providing to them.

Whichever approach you take, an off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all curriculum just can't deliver the value you expect.

So, if you're going to invest some serious time and resources in a customer service training program, make sure it's customised to your needs.

Before you know it, your organisation will be fondly remembered by customers long after they have experienced your iconic customer service.