Customer service is complex, because people are complex. Your interactions with customers over email, phone etc. are just one facet of customer service. There’s actually a lot that is not in plain sight, and is easy to miss or misunderstand. We’ve compiled a list of misconceptions, or myths, people may have about dealing with customer service and support. Though we wrote this piece with a small online business in mind, we’re confident that most, if not all, of these myths and their reality are perfectly applicable to larger businesses or even brick and mortar ones.

1. MYTHS ABOUT
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
BUSTED!
10

2. If your customers aren’t
complaining, they are happy
A business must understand that just because the customer didn’t complain,
it doesn’t mean there is nothing to complain about.
!
According to one research, for every customer that complains, there are as
many as 26 others that remain silent.
#1
Source: Lee Resources (http://leeresources.com)

3. all the time#2
You have to satisfy all customers
It is important to please your customers, but you must realize its
impossible to please everyone. You will come across customers that
won’t be pleased, no matter what you do.
!
Don’t worry about it. As long as you offer the best product/service
coupled with the best customer service, you’ll do great.

4. #3 Customer Service is a Department
Thinking of customer service as independent of other operations is a
mistake. The idea of providing the best experience to your customer
must be integrated organization-wide.
Source: Delivering Customer Intelligence (Shaw and Ivens)
!
71% of business leaders believe that customer experience is the next
corporate battleground.

5. Customer Service is Expensive#4
Not investing in customer service is a costly mistake. In 2010, businesses lost as
much as $84 billion per year, in US alone. Losing business over bad customer
service is more damaging to the revenue than investing in it.
!
Its not hard to see that providing quality customer service, though not cheap, pays (or
saves) for itself several times over.

6. People pay for the product/service, not
customer service #5
Customers look for a complete package that addresses all their problems or at
least the ones promised. After-sale services are a part of that package
!
In a survey, at least 55% people said that they would pay extra to guarantee
better customer service with the product.
Source: The Skyscraping Cost of Bad Customer Service (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/2325800)

7. Happy and Unhappy Customers Spread
Message In The Same Way
Humans are wired to take bad news more intensely than good news.
!
#6
75% people who had a bad experience with a business advise their friends and family to
be wary. Additionally, only 42% share good experience with friends and family.
Source: One Quarter of U.S. Consumers Far More Likely to Spread the Word About a Bad Experience than a Good One
(http://www.colloquy.com/press_release_view.asp?xd=92)

8. Its Better to Invest in Marketing &
Advertising than Customer Service
Some businesses shy away from investing in customer service because they’d rather spend
their resources in getting more customers. They couldn’t be more wrong.
!
It costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire new customer than hold down existing ones.
#7
Source: Cost of acquiring a new customer: 6 to 7 times more than keeping existing
(http://blog.spoken.com/2010/10/cost-of-acquiring-a-new-customer-6-to-7-times-more-than-keeping-exisiting.html)

9. Social media is for fun, not
customer service #8
Source: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/commerce/live-help-on-demand/oracle-live-help-wp-aamf-
1624138.pdf
Brands that don’t utilize social media to solve customer
problems are missing out on a massive opportunity.
This is where your customers are.
!
An Oracle study revealed that 46% of online customers
expect brands to provide customer service on
Facebook

10. Small companies cannot provide good
customer service
Though being a large corporate entity gives an organization many
advantages, any company can nail customer service if its heart is
at the right place.
!
According to AmEx survey, 80% Americans said that in their
experience, smaller organizations deliver better customer service
than larger ones.
#9
Source: American Express Survey, 2011

11. their Problems Solved#10
People Don't Mind Waiting to Get
One might think that, because their problem will get solved
eventually, people wouldn't mind waiting. Unfortunately, that is not
the case at all.
!
According to a survey, as many as 40% people want their problem
solved within the hour.
Source: Where is customer service heading in 2013? Edison Research (http://www.onedesk.com/2013/01/
where-customer-service-is-heading-in-2013/)

12. Customer support right from your Gmail
http://mailflo.io