Customers: wake up to the real cost of excellent service

By Jacqui Thomasen

A recent trip to Ireland, flying with a budget airline from Stansted, provided some of the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced.

Sometimes we accept bad service 

Standing among a plane-load of resigned customers, I realised that the recession is the time for not giving good customer service a second thought if it saves companies and their customers money.

As we waited for two hours to take off, it transpired that any form of communication from the crew as to why we were still on the tarmac was deemed gratuitous and unnecessary.

Having spent many years on the front line with customers in the hospitality industry, this customer silence was anathema to me. We sat quietly until news came through that we would be changing planes as the one we had ‘enjoyed’ for more than two hours was, in fact, faulty.

Nobody demanded to know why we weren’t informed sooner, there were no citations of EU legislation for food and drinks and no one was calling customer services to claim compensation. Everyone just calmly exited the plane.

One hour later, flights were departing all around us. Yet we continued to queue and still no one came to update us or apologise for the delay. Still nobody complained. It was at this point that I began to formulate a theory on a new attitude to customer service.

Katie, from Shannon, now living in Essex, rolled her eyes and wondered what was going on. Ciara, in front, joined in. We had all resigned ourselves to the fact there was no point in complaining because we all believed the minimal price we had paid for our flights meant we were no longer entitled to do so.

We expected the airline to ensure our flights were safe: that was the height of our expectations.

Furthermore, in spite of the discomfort of standing, increasing hunger levels and the desperation to be home, we all knew already that we would be return customers. 

It appeared we were all, in fact, grateful to the airline – spending less on staff to pander to our needs meant we were guaranteed incredibly cheap fares, allowing us to continue visiting far flung friends and relatives in difficult economic times.

Good customer service costs

We need to wake up to the real cost of providing good customer service. It involves skills that require time, training and labour – and these costs should not be underestimated.

We need to stop being so indignant if we should have to queue at the supermarket – budget prices should equate to budget service. Maybe for too long we’ve had everything all our own way, wanting premium products and service at budget cost.

So why has this happened? If you want a cheap meal you go to a self-service restaurant. If you’re looking to save money on a holiday you choose self-catering. If you want to spend less on a product you look online or through a catalogue before hitting the shops.

In so many areas, we are used to choosing the level of customer service that our budget allows. It should not be a great leap to apply this thinking to all areas of spending.

But industry competition has ensured that our unreasonable demands for superior customer service have largely been met. Until now, that is. Regrettably, this recession is leading to the closure of many businesses. For those that survive, however, it provides an opportunity.

Excellent customer service should come at a premium

It’s perhaps time for service providers to rebalance the equation – not just the supermarkets and service agencies. Businesses in all sectors should consider charging for excellent service so that we can appreciate the value both of products and service, and then choose the level that best suits our pocket. 

That would also remind us that a cost-driven, reduced service is not synonymous with bad service.

And we will truly value good service instead of expecting it ubiquitously. That, at least, will be one silver lining to the dark clouds currently lurking above us.