Quality customer service is really important. According to a study by Accenture, 52% of consumers who’ve had a bad customer service experience with a company stopped buying their services and products. Plus, an estimated $1.6 billion worth of business in the U.S. is lost for the same reason. We’ve compiled a listing of 18 examples of bad customer service which you can hopefully avoid and learn from.
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2. Threatening that something bad may happen if we did not buy their services.
Lucy Thorpe, Lucy Thorpe Blog
I took my youngest daughter to receive her eyes checked. She was fine and we utilized a particular clinic since they have a reputation for quality service and the ceremony was indeed excellent. However, for many years now, they’ve been mailing me letters telling me that I must bring my daughter back to get a check up. The longer I do nothing, the more annoying the letters I seem to get. The concept behind those mailshots is that by ignoring them I am endangering my daughter’s health.
3. Kids can be observed, but not heard.
John R. DiJulius III, Author, The Di Julius Group
A restaurant prohibited guests using strollers, high chairs, or booster seats. In addition, it exhibited a sign that read,”Children yelling or making loud noises are a diversion to other diners, and as such are prohibited in the dining room”
4. Possessing undependable processes but nevertheless not being customer-oriented.
Alex Bloom, Velaro
I ordered tickets for a concert in another town. Fourteen days before the concert, I got an email that my tickets had been shipped and they’d arrive on the Saturday before my flight. The tickets never came. On Monday, I got an email the tickets wouldn’t arrive before Tuesday, sending me into a panic. My flight was departing on Thursday and this was cutting it close. I called customer service, they canceled those tickets and gave me fresh ones they stated would come electronically. On Wednesday (the day before my trip ).
I finally got the confirmation email for this second set of tickets, but when I went to publish them got a message stating”electronic tickets” were no more available! The firm did not deliver when they said they’d, sold me a ceremony that they didn’t even offer you no more, and never called me personally to inform me any of this. The business finally agreed to send the tickets to the concert location, and they still didn’t arrive until two hours before the concert was scheduled to start. Obviously, that type of stress made me never want to get tickets from this company again!
6. Vague service clauses that most of the time snacks the customer’s back.
Colin Shaw, Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy
Whenever I rent a vehicle, I dread the moment once the agent asks if I need collision damage waiver insurance. I really don’t want it, but the way the question is asked always makes me second guess myself for an instant.
And then there is the confusing array of refueling choices, and the half dozen exemptions that I have to agree on the application. From the time that I’ve got the keys, I am never entirely certain what I have signed up for. And I am slightly worried that it is more than I thought.
That is, of course, a terrible customer experience. The emotions the rental vehicle process generates — uncertainty, confusion, anxiety — are exactly the sort of negative feelings which destroy long-term worth for a provider.
7. Charging a wedding couple $500 for each negative review from their guests.
Alexandra Klausner, Daily Mail Online
It is natural for businesses to despise bad publicity and negative reviews. Some companies even go as far as deleting less-than-ideal feedback from clients.
But a resort in upstate New York took it even further when they executed a policy that charged $500 for each negative review that a wedding couple’s guests wrote about the establishment. They offered to repay the $500 only if the inspection was removed.
When word got out of the absurd policy, the hotel received an influx of adverse reviews on Yelp.
9. “Maybe in the event that you eliminate some weight we might have things that fit you.”
Ewout Meyn, Pie Sync
This was said by a manager of a well known mega-lingerie brand to a somewhat overweight girl. Needless to say, this quote went viral in virtually no time. Even though it might be true your brand does not have particular dimensions, but there’s simply no need to respond in this kind of way.
So among us frantically asked one of the servers behind the bar for a glass of orange juice. Our friend is diabetic, so she told him, and needs some orange juice ASAP. The waiter looked at our friend’s shaking hands, looked at her, and said:”Nice action.”
What happened ? Our friend went to shock. He shook uncontrollably and collapsed on the ground. We called an ambulance. The paramedics came, took him outside and helped him to get his blood glucose level back to normal.
12. “You’ll never get my iPhones you [derogatory slur]!”
Ryan Speier, Co-Founder, BriskSale.com
At times the client is not always perfect. Among our co-founder’s title is Zi. He is from China and it is really not apparent that English is not his first speech — he probably writes better than I do. Anyhow, we had some scammer about the site attempting to sell iPhones and was clearly producing fake tracking numbers and using stolen credit cards. Zi was firm using this deceptive person and advised him that the charge cards could be refunded along with the orders canceled, to which the scammer responded with a racist slur. Regardless of the obvious racism, Zi was on the floor laughing.
13. “I knew that you women were a joke that the minute you walked in!”
13. “I knew that you women were a joke that the minute you walked in!” Steven MacDonald, Online Marketer, Super Office
A bride-to-be was looking for bridesmaid dresses for her upcoming wedding, and has been contemplating her options. Initially, she had been treated normally by employees. However, as time passed, a pushy sales assistant came to the conclusion that she was not there to purchase and told the woman and her three bridesmaids,”I knew that you girls were a joke the minute you walked !” Wow! Discuss jumping the gun!
The lady had every intention of purchasing, but unsurprisingly left the shop immediately after her inadequate treatment and delivered a complaint by email to the head office.
14. Service staff acting unbelievably bad.
DJ Gannon, Trip Advisor
I attended a function at a resort. While we were there, my girlfriend was happy speaking among her friends so I moved to the pub for a quiet drink and watched the last few minutes of a soccer match which was around the TV. After the game finished, I asked a woman behind the bar where the best place to have a smoke is and she pointed to a set of double doors.
As soon as I walked through the doors, they slammed behind me out me. I tried to capture the eye of a man bartender, hoping that he would come to my assistance. But upon noticing my predicament, he simply looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I pointed to the handle of the door and that he simply mockingly put his hand to his ear and shook his head in order to indicate he has no way of understanding what I could possibly need out of him! He walked away and left me like this when all he needed to do was open the door. Another client came to my aid in the end, and he too was shocked with all the behaviour of the bartender.
15. Being called rude names for not renewing services.
Chloe Della Costa, Writer, Cheat Sheet
After Lisa Brown called to cancel the cable TV portion of her service, she had been, of course, transferred to a retention pro specifically trained to talk her out of it. She didn’t back down, though. Much to her surprise and agitation, the next service announcement she received was addressed not to her husband, Ricardo Brown, but also to”Asshole Brown.”
Just days after Brown’s narrative went viral, three more clients of the TV cable provider came forward reporting their names were altered to derogatory words.
16. Not treating a lousy review constructively.
Michelle Nati, Graphic Designer, Oddee
A bride-to-be was shocked when a upscale restaurant reacted with a vicious tirade after her and her group complained about the inadequate attitude from employees in a Facebook review.
Even though they enjoyed the food, the party was left dissatisfied with the level of customer service they’d received from staff and took to Facebook to whine about the bad support.
The one-star review prompted a scathing response from an undercover member of staff who called the group”dreadful,””cheap chav trash,””the worst, most vile people to ever grace our restaurant,” and added,”we shame the groom.” Ouch!
Learn the ideal way to react to negative reviews.
17. Announcing to the whole area that a credit card was denied.
Lisa Mirza Grotts, Etiquette Expert & Author
At my doctor’s office last week, the nurse took my credit card to cover the co-pay. After the card has been denied, she blurted out in front of the waiting room,”Your Visa was denied.”
I was mortified since the co-pay was just $10 bucks. As soon as I left the office, there was a message on my cell phone in my bank, stating that fraud was involved so that they shut down the card.
Instead she could have said,”Lisa, I’ve been having problems all day with my device. Can we try another card as I’m having difficulty with this one”
Bonus 1: Using unbelievably ridiculous mindset without basis.
Amber Malcolm, CEO & Founder, Shabby Chick Cleaners
As my husband was pumping gasoline, a worker came out and began pressure washing the drive. The spray went anywhere! My husband and another customer began crying in the worker to stop, but he refused and started taunting my husband!
He kept saying,”Why don’t you tell my supervisor ” This sounded like a good idea to me, so I jumped out of the car and stormed into the store and asked the manager come back his worker until we were done purchasing petrol. We were amazed!
I said, very politely,”I really don’t understand your explanation, is there somebody else who will describe it to me so I will understand it” She replied:”You are stupid.” Then she hung up.
Over For You
We’d love to thank everyone who contributed samples of terrible customer service experiences!
To the tiny businesses on the market, we expect that these stories can allow you to avoid situations that may cost you your reputation and paying customers.
What is your favourite idea from this listing? Leave your comments below and let us talk!
If you want tips about the best way to improve your customer service practices with your customers, read our article about top 29 customer support ideas from the professionals.
