Since the last few days, I have been struggling to get a few of my issues resolved with 2 of my service providers. One is a bank, and the other is my Internet provider. I have exhausted almost all available communication options, but neither of them is budging.
In the recent past, I had a similar experience with some of my other service providers. This makes me wonder why customer service standards are falling so rapidly.
It is very difficult for the consumer to even get a worthwhile acknowledgement from the service providers, let alone the solution. All these cases are those where the providers cannot cite any tangible reasons for being affected by the ongoing pandemic.
Most of them have put bots in the early stages of the communication process, so one would be very lucky if their concerns reach a human being. Response times are inconsistent, and satisfactory resolutions are hard to get.
So why in the current times are service standards falling so rapidly?
Reasons For Depleting Customer Service
Being a seasoned professional in the Operations and Customer Service domains, I feel the reasons behind the depleting customer service standards are one or many of the following:
Monopolistic Markets
If we look at any customer-facing business in India, we will find that each business segment is dominated by 2-3 key players. For example, in wireless telephony, the top 2 companies hog 65% market share, leaving no scope for healthy competition. (source)
More often than not, in most of the segments, the services of players at 4th or 5th place are so sub-standard that no one would dare to choose them.
Selling Price, not Quality
There are hardly any reliable qualitative service ratings available for various service providers. So, as a consumer, if one wishes to make an informed decision while choosing a service provider, they either have to check reviews on the internet or consult their family and friends.
There is enough evidence to suggest that it is very easy to manipulate internet ratings. (source) A few companies have also been caught red-handed doing this and have ended up paying heavy fines. In other words, ‘Word of Mouth’ is the only reliable channel, and we all know how slow it is!
This prompts various companies operating in the mass market to sell on price and price only as they feel competitiveness on service quality would hardly beget any tangible gains.
Economies of Size
There are many product segments where the incumbent’s penetration is very low, and still, a huge untapped market lies for the companies to explore, and there is hardly any incentive for them to spend any of their energies on retaining existing customers.
Also in the conventional segments, most of the existing players’ subscriber base is so huge that losing a few thousand customers here and there would not make any difference to their top lines.
Lack of Customer Focus
There is a fine line that differentiates Operations and Customer Service. There is always a conflict of interest between both of them.
In a few organisations that I know, Customer Service is an offshoot of Operations, which is not the ideal situation. In a few companies, it was made a part of the Sales function, which I feel is a bigger crime.
Both Sales and Operations areas are highly number-driven, have stiff targets and work most of the time under tremendous pressure. It is therefore not possible for them to drop everything and start worrying about an unhappy customer.
Ideas To Rveive a Depleted Customer Service Setup
The current situation is not very healthy, and I feel that various Customer Service leaders must take immediate corrective actions to salvage the situation.
A few pointers from my side:
Rigorous Training of the Frontline Staff
Many times, our frontline staff provide ‘Template’ responses to the customers’ calls and messages without listening to or reading them properly.
Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. But they do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.
Donald Porter
A lot of customers just call to let us know that something was wrong and we should improve our services. They are usually not looking for any compensation or benefits.
In such situations, saying a heartfelt ‘Sorry’ and maybe sending a thank-you note is good enough to satisfy the customer. Hence, sooner the better!
However, it is not easy to achieve this. Our frontline staff need to be trained rigorously for this. Most often, they are the least paid members of the value chain and hence have little motivation to go the extra mile.
Empower the Frontline
It is therefore also very important to empower the frontline teams so that they can make decisions and satisfy the customers on the fly instead of just reading the policy document to the customer and making them run from pillar to post.
I have personally experienced that offering an instant solution and fulfilment (if required), to the complainant during the initial stages of the complaint redressal process is cheaper and effective as compared to letting the complaint get escalated to the entire hierarchy of the company, thus wasting precious time and energy on both sides.
Converting Customer Service to a Profit Centre
It would be an interesting idea to convert the customer service department into a profit centre. The moment we can put a monetary value on the relationship of a customer (customer lifetime value) who is willing to leave the company due to our poor service, we will immediately know what we can do to retain them.
It would also be good to put a tangible value on what a bad review does to the brand, thus arriving at the value of converting an unhappy customer into a happy one.
This will make the Customer Service department self-sustaining, and they will not have to depend on ‘Goodwill Budgets’ to make the customer happy.
Conclusion
In a world where competition is fierce but customer focus is dwindling, the real differentiator lies not in technology or pricing, but in how we make our customers feel. A good Customer Service recovery isn’t just damage control; it’s a golden opportunity to create brand evangelists. The organisations that will thrive in the future are not the ones with the most advanced bots or biggest market shares, but those that empower their people to listen, empathise, and act with urgency.
Customer service is no longer a back-end function. It is the frontline of brand experience, trust-building, and long-term growth. As leaders, professionals, and consumers, we must challenge the status quo and reimagine what ‘service’ really means.
Let’s rebuild customer service not just as a function—but as a philosophy.
Focus on your customer and lead your people as though their lives depend on your success.
Warren Buffett
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PS: Copilot and ChatGPT have been used to create parts of this post.
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