Thoughts on Serving Ungrateful Customers

Have you ever assisted a customer and you really, really wanted to find a solution for them? Yes, I know in customer support our goal is almost always to find solutions for customers. 

I’m talking about that customer that perhaps has a really cool use case or perhaps they have the odds stacked against them and you’re committed to making it work. Or perhaps you’ve had a bad day and you just need a win. 

Regardless of the factors involved, once I’m immersed in solving a customer problem, the last thing I want to do is to admit defeat.

Let’s talk about Cammy

Let me tell you about Cammy (not her real name). She ended up contacting us to make a purchase and made a mistake in the information she provided to us. That caused us to then send that mistaken information back to her when she responded. Not owning up to that mistake, we were blamed for being incompetent and received a negative rating on our customer satisfaction survey.

Not wanting to let a good opportunity go to waste, I called her and was able to work through the issue and convince her to place an order with us. I even got her a great deal in the process. During our conversation, I learned about a number of challenges Cammy was facing in life and it made me want to work even harder to ensure that the entire process was a success.

Fast forward a bit and I got her order placed and some unforeseen delays occurred on our side. I was able to resolve the couple that were our own doing and also spent time on the phone with her and another company to resolve the other issue. Nothing was instantaneous but we finally completed her order and were able to get her squared away — or so I thought.

A few days later, Cammy contacted us in a panic because our system was emailing her every few hours. It turned out to be caused by a bug in our system. Even though we were able to quickly address it, she was done and insisted that we cancel her account right then and there. Given that processes were in motion that we couldn’t reverse, I encouraged her to stay the course and even refunded all of the money she paid us.

We were ultimately able to get her set up on the new provider and I thought the case was solved only to hear that her service with the new provider wasn’t working. I contacted the new provider and they were able to quickly resolve the issue. After communicating this to Cammy, I kept her case open for a few days before finally closing it. It’s been a couple of months now and I haven’t heard another word from Cammy and doubt I ever will.

Time to tally up the score

If you’re keeping score here, our company definitely made a few errors along the way that created an atypical situation for this customer. The customer’s new provider also had at least one atypical issue. And yes, Cammy’s error in communication didn’t help.

If you’re looking at time spent, it’s safe to say that we spent an hour or two of valuable time working on these various issues. 

It seemed only right not to charge the customer for the service and I’m glad that she was ultimately able to use it with her new provider.

Here’s where I struggled and what I learned

In the aftermath of this customer interaction, I struggled a bit. As I review Cammy’s case and reflect on our conversations, not once did I receive a simple thank you for the effort spent to resolve the issue. Certainly I put forth a lot of effort but did she owe me any sort of gratitude? As I’ve processed this, here are some conclusions I’ve come to:

• Customers don’t owe us gratitude – Customers aren’t obligated to say “Thank you” or leave a tip or anything. If they hire us for a service, our job is to provide them with that service in the best way possible.

• Don’t sign up for this job if you need a pat on the back – Yes, many customers will thank you for a job well done in many different ways but many won’t. Hopefully your supervisors and managers help to fill that gap.

• Find other sources of joy and validation – I love a good compliment from a customer but my sense of self worth doesn’t rely on that. I also love solving complex problems and take great pride in knowing that I give my best effort at work each day.
• Never stop learning and questioning – A comedy of errors definitely contributed to a difficult situation and Cammy was rightfully upset. The reality is that contact center agents are often the first to know about these issues. The fact that the customer took the time to share their experience is a gift. Don’t waste it. Use the situation to improve so that future customers are successful.

As I wrap this up, I have one other reflection following my interaction with Cammy. When I’m in her shoes, working with a customer service professional to resolve a complex situation, I will always show appreciation for the effort they are putting forth on my behalf. You can never go wrong with an attitude of gratitude!

On that note, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Where do you find your value and worth as a customer service professional? Leave a comment below.