Our consumer champion and founder of the Lady Janey blog Jane Hawkes, says businesses need to put people before processes as National Customer Service Week highlights the importance of getting customer service right


Good customer service should make life easier, not leave customers feeling frustrated, ignored or as though they have to fight to get a straightforward problem resolved.

The awareness drive highlights the importance of customer service and the role it plays in everyday interactions between businesses and their customers.

I am sharing some of the customer service frustrations consumers shouldn't simply be expected to put up with.

While technology, policies and procedures all have their place, they should never become barriers between customers and getting problems resolved.

Good customer service isn't about making customers work harder to get a problem sorted. It's about listening, taking ownership and finding a fair solution.

Technology can be incredibly useful, but there comes a point when customers need to speak to a human being. Equally, being able to quote a company policy isn't the same as actually resolving someone's problem.

Customers shouldn't have to become experts in a company's internal processes just to get a mistake corrected or a complaint properly dealt with.

Here are some of the customer service frustrations consumers shouldn't have to accept:

Being stuck talking to a chatbot:

AI can be brilliant for simple queries but when you have a genuine problem, you shouldn't have to battle your way through a chatbot to speak to a real person. If the technology isn't helping you, it's time for a human to step in. Customer service should make your life easier, not more difficult and frustrating.

Having to tell your story over and over again:

If you've already explained what has happened, you shouldn't have to repeat it every time you're passed from one department to another. Companies need to sort out their internal communication. It's not the customer's job to keep joining the dots between different teams.

Being told your complaint is "closed" when it isn't:

Sending a final response doesn't magically make a problem disappear. If you're still out of pocket, still waiting for an answer or the original problem hasn't been fixed, then it's not resolved, end of. Companies need to focus on putting things right, not simply getting complaints off their books.

Being treated like a number rather than a person:

Of course companies need policies and procedures but there should still be room for a bit of common sense and empathy. Not every customer or situation fits neatly into a script. Sometimes people just need someone to actually listen and understand what has happened. In today’s world issues can be a lot more personal and complex than ever before and need handling as such.

Having to fight to get a company's mistake put right:

If a business has made the mistake, we shouldn't have to spend hours chasing, calling, emailing and quoting chapter and verse to get it corrected. Good customer service isn't about making customers work harder to get a problem resolved. It's about taking ownership and putting things right.

Extra tip!

Don't accept "that's our policy" as the end of the conversation.
A company having a policy doesn't automatically mean it has answered your question or resolved your problem. If you're told "that's our policy", ask them to explain how that policy applies to your particular situation and what they can do to put things right. Good customer service isn't about hiding behind the rulebook, it's about finding a fair solution. It’s also well worth remembering that a company's terms and conditions don't override your statutory consumer rights. Consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015, still applies.