Things That Customers Hate About Customer Service


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When customers have bad service experience with any business, they do not just fret about it but most of them intend to spread bad words of mouth about their experience to vent out their anger. In an online survey, it has been revealed that 57% of dissatisfied customers spout off to family and friends about their bad experience, whereas, more than 32% of customers immediately stop doing business with the company that aggrieved them. Other than those, several customers take to social media to show their ire to let other potential customers know about their bad experience.

Business experts say that entrepreneurs should not sit around and wait for a bad customer experience to happen and THEN react. They must know about the customer support disasters, beforehand, so that they can do something for it.

Delayed Response or Long Holds

Nowadays, everyone is busy and in a hurry, so, customers not at all like it, when they are put on hold for excessively long time or there is a delay in response. They call customer support representatives, expecting answers to their queries right away, and waiting on the line is such a pain. However, when we analyze it from business perspective, we find that there is nothing that customer support representatives can do but to put them on hold, especially during peak hours. Experts suggest shortening the hold time as much as possible and if it is inevitable to put them on hold longer than a minute, inform the customer. It will give customers the liberty to choose between whether they want to wait or want to call back later. Another feasible option is to offer customers, live chat support on your website so that they can get assistance on real time basis.

Explaining the Same Issue to Multiple Agents

Most of the customers state that having to explain the same issue over and over again to multiple agents is a major and very frustrating aspect of customer service. As they expect that the first agent they speak to will resolve their issue. Therefore, it is enough to irate them, when they are told that another person will handle their issue. Things get worse when customers will have to repeat the same issue after already explaining it to a previous agent. To avoid this, empower your every customer support agent to resolve customer’s issue at the first hand. However, if it is inevitable to transfer call between departments, before transferring, make sure you have told other agent, the customer’s reason for calling and immediately offer apology to customer for waiting.

Dealing with Inexperienced Customer Support Staff

In the very first go, customers want solution to their queries and it puts them off, if they have to call again, because you could not provide them viable solution in the first contact. Train your agents for every situation, as it is good to resolve the issue in the first go but if the issue will take time or need follow ups, you should inform the customer at the initial stage and explain as well about what will happen during the support process.

Customers reject companies offering bad customer service as they do not tolerate receiving poor support from their favorite company. Identifying the above-mentioned pointers can help you alleviate the annoyance of your customers and help providing a much satisfying customer experience.


  1. @Brian, What are your thoughts on IVRs and automated response systems? Don’t you think they are also up there among the most notorious of customer service mistakes?

    With the increase in smartphone usage, if a customer wants self-service, automated information, he can simply get it online or through a mobile app. Or even through automated online chat support (some of which have AI running behind them).

    But when the customer picks up the phone and makes a call, my experience says that they want to talk to a person because either the self-service online did not address their concern or the fact that they do not have time to spend on the website. In either of the cases, a long IVR is not really appreciated. Even having a good answering service with a live attendant to listen to the problem and pass on the call to the relevant department is a big improvement on the IVR.

    I believe we are losing out on the “human touch” by going overboard with automation in IVRs. That (i.e. the human touch) is something that needs to be brought back to really help the overall customer service experience.

  2. A customer who calls in must hear a warm, sincere, and friendly voice of the customer rep. The caller must feel this type of treatment for him to feel at ease and comfortable. The caller must feel confident that he/she is being attended to. One piece of advise for anyone who would be in the front line of customer service profession– Take a comprehensive course in counseling and interviewing.. .

  3. Honestly, customers just need to deal with it. Yes, we all hate automated responses, long waits, and inexperienced agents, but automated messages, when used correctly, eliminate the need for transferring between departments, inexperienced workers, and other things. Instead of comtiniusly pressing 1, like you all do, why not just LISTEN! I’ve never called a company and said “I’m so excited about this 7 minute wait!” But I’m also not so pompous that I think I need to be put in front of everyone else. Wait it out, and your problem will be resolved. Everyone is busy, and I hate to break it to EVERYONE, but your time is no more important than the other 500,000 people calling a support line.

  4. Yes, but Justin, you must admit that not all of the “options” suit every individual’s needs. There are countless times when none of the options work, and you just simply need to speak to a human being, inexperienced or not. I’d much rather have an inexperienced person transfer me to someone who is specifically able to solve my problem, than to deal with an automated system that sends me into an endless labyrinth of options, none of which lead to a human being, but to a recording that does not answer my specific question or need. There is nothing more frustrating than that, and we all deserve better.

  5. Highly concur with Alexandra. That is the best recourse of all the alternatives I’ve read. Customer service personnel just have to do their best to put the customer in the most comfortable and friendly situation, the tune, the words and ease of conversation must be rendered at all times to have a operational, professional customer service center.Some of things I employ when conversing with anyone are my work as volunteer as social worker, being a instructor, interviewer and counselor..

  6. Since I am writing this comment on a busy Christmas season, I tend to pay more attention on how customer service people would handle my concern amid hundreds of other callers who could be a angry lot, if not satisfied.

    That is why the third one is right on the money. Although I also work in a customer service call center company, I am also a customer of a product or service offered by any business. I also call the company’s hotline center for my questions and issues. Nothing ticks me off more than a live agent who might have the empathy but do not have the ability to help me. Product training does not stop when you hire new agents as new front liners. It has to be continuous until the product or service becomes a part of their system. Help these agents build their confidence by enabling them to understand what you offer. Continuous quality assurance monitoring, backed by more coaching, is essential to help them succeed.

  7. We’d all love to have a real person answer the phone when we call customer service. But, unfortunately, that costs money — a lot of money — and as consumers we are not willing to foot that bill. You could make the argument that “it’s the cost of doing business”; but if companies don’t charge directly for customer support, they will just bake it into the price of the products we buy. Face it: not many consumers will pay a premium price for a product, just because it comes with live-agent customer support.

    So, the challenge for companies becomes providing GOOD automation, not just ANY automation. Customer support technology has to be designed with the end user experience in mind, or it will drive away customers. The good news is that the tide is turning, and a lot of companies are offering services like visual IVR’s (which provide a more pleasant and efficient self-service experience) and automated call back (which virtually eliminates hold times).


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