RECOGNIZE AND DEAL WITH
CUSTOMER TURNOFFS
Customer Turnoffs
 As a customer, client, patient, etc…what are some of your
turnoffs?
 According to statistics very common customer turnoffs
may be;
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Being ignored, receiving rude or indifferent service
Having to wait too long
Poor-quality work (especially on repair jobs) or shoddy products
Sale items that are not in stock
Merchandise prices not marked, forcing a price check at cashier
Dirty restaurants or restrooms
Phone calls put on hold forcing you to select from a long menu of
choices
 Employees lacking product knowledge (who may also try to bluff
customers)
 High-pressure sales tactics
Getting to know your
customer
 It is in the best interest of an organization to Get to
KNOW their customers. The easiest way to
understand a customer is to recognize a customer’s
satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction.
 At the end of the day…what do your customers like
or dislike?
 What are several methods that may be used to pinpoint
customer satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction?
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Customer Surveys
Customer Feedback Questionnaires
Customer Focus Groups
Customer Interviews
Customer Advisory groups
Categorizing Customer
Turnoffs
 Through extensive research customer
turnoffs can be categorized into three distinct
categories
 VALUE Turnoffs
 SYSTEM Turnoffs
 PEOPLE Turnoffs
Value Turnoffs
 In short, value turnoffs can be described as not
getting the value of what you have paid for.
 Example: You receive a 30 minute massage from the
massage therapist in your chiropractors office, it is
terrible. You feel like you have just been run over by a
lawnmower, not to mention that the office has just
raised the fees for a massage by 50%.
 Value can be defined as: quality relative to price
 Examples of value turnoffs:
 Poor guarantee or failure to back up products
 Quality not good as expected
 Price too high for value received
Where do value decisions
originate from?
 Value decisions usually come from
management or the head of an organization.
In a medical or dental facility value decisions
may be regulated by a medical or dental
board
 The head of an organization will define what
is called the;
 value proposition—what the company intends
to exchange with its customers.
System Turnoffs
 System turnoffs arise from the way a company DELIVERS
ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.
 A system is—any process, procedure, or policy used to
‘DELIVER’ the product or service to the customer. Systems are
the processes that we use to get value to the customer.
 Systems include things such as:
 Company location, layout, parking facilities, phone lines
 Employee training and staffing
 Record keeping (including computer systems for handling
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customer transactions)
Policies regarding guarantees and product returns
Delivery or pickup services
Merchandise displays
Customer follow-up procedures
Billing and accounting processes
Where do system decisions
originate from?
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The responsibility for minimizing system turnoffs lies with managers,
and owners,. System changes often require spending organizational
resources which are usually authorized by managers or the head of an
organization.
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A companies decision to add personnel, provide additional training, change
locations or implement new delivery methods, will require management
approval.
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This does not mean that non-management employees should not be
involved in suggesting system changes. Customers may also indirectly
be involved in system changes through customer feedback question,
surveys etc…about company systems.
 Examples of system turnoffs:
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Slow service
Long lines
Untrained employees
Poor signage
When transactions are unnecessarily complicated or inefficient (example:
complicated form forms)
System Turnoffs in a healthcare
facility
 Can you think of a system turnoff in a healthcare facility?
 employees who lack the knowledge to answer customer
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questions
Telephone menus that are unnecessarily complicated
poor location
cluttered workplace
Lack of adequate seating
Dirty facilities
clumsy or repetitious paperwork requirements
lack of parking
Long periods of waiting
 What do you think is the number one system turnoff
according to customer research?
 Slow service and/or having to wait
People Turnoffs
 Employees that fail to communicate
properly with words or nonverbally
without words will almost always lead
to people turnoffs.
 Employees at all levels may create people
turnoffs unconsciously. This usually happens
because people fail to understand how they
are perceived by others…how can this be
remedied…Chapter 2: Use behaviours that
engage customers and be aware of how and
what you are communicating to a customer.
 THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REDUCING
PEOPLE TURNOFFS LIES WITH THE
EMPLOYEE
Examples of People Turnoffs
 Employees who fail to greet or even smile at a
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customer
People who give inaccurate information or convey a
lack of knowledge
Employees chatting amongst themselves or allowing
telephone interruptions while ignoring a customer
Behaviours that project a rude or uncaring attitude
Work locations that appear dirty or sloppy
Employees who are dressed inappropriately or have
poor grooming
Any communicated message that causes the
customer to feel uncomfortable
Creating Loyal Customers
A satisfied customer
may not necessarily
be a loyal, motivated
or repeat customer.
A bad service
experience may push
the customer over
the edge and lean
them towards
becoming a
DISSATISFIED
CUSTOMER.
How to Create Loyal Customers
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Reduce or eliminate value, systems and people turnoffs
Exceed customer expectations to create, positive
awareness
Loyalty comes from customers awareness that SERVICE
IS YOUR BUSINESS
 It is only when organizations realize that SERVICE is the
foundation of any business that they will begin to serve
customers effectively.
 Companies have to acknowledge that without their customers
they would not exist.
 Service only becomes meaningful when it becomes and
internal dynamic within an organization.
 Customers’ quickly see the depth of a company’s commitment to
service.
The payoff to recovering a potentially
lost customer…increasing customer loyalty
 Studies have shown that: a customer who
encounters a problem with a company and that
problem is addressed promptly and effectively—
this customer will be more likely to remain loyal
that a customer who never had a problem.
 Even in cases where the customers problem was not
resolved 100 percent in their favour, the loyalty still
increases.
 Just the fact that the problem was acknowledged
and addressed seems to be the key variable in
strengthening the customer relationship