A celebrity goes out for brunch and then disses the restaurant on Twitter. A woman takes to Yelp complain about sub-par service at a local clothing store. A man writes a scathing blog post about a local store’s return policy.
Welcome to customer service in 2017. When something goes wrong, a disappointed or enraged customer can tell family members, friends, co-workers and strangers all about that experience in a matter of seconds. What’s more, customers today are comparing small businesses to every other business, not just other retailers, according to Shep Hyken, an expert in customer service and frequent contributor to Forbes magazine.
“Someone goes to a luxury hotel and has an amazing experience and then she heads to her local florist and she expects the same level of service,” he says in the latest issue of Floral Management magazine. “Florists aren’t competing any more against other florists or gift providers. They’re being compared to anyone who delivers any kind of service. Period.”
There’s real money on the table to be gained from being the business that does the dazzling. Hyken pointed to a NewVoiceMedia report that found that some $62 billion was lost in 2015 due to poor customer service.
This month, Floral Management editors talked to florists, along with experts from outside the industry, on how to get more raves from your customers. Read more.
