How to Ruin Your Company’s Reputation in a Hurry

The other day, my wife got a renewal bill from one of her credit card companies. Originally there was no annual fee, and now there was going to be one added for the upcoming year. Needless to say, she did not want to pay for something she had received for free before. So, she called the credit card company and started the process of “cancelling” her credit card. One hour and fifteen minutes later, including several intervals of being placed on hold for extended periods of time, she was able to complete the cancellation. In the meantime she vented out loud words and emotions I cannot repeat here. By the time she had finished she was irritated, upset, exhausted and alienated from this inexcusable experience. This credit card company’s name would be repeated to her friends and colleagues and so the chain reaction of bad vibrations would begin. Studies show that unhappy customers will tell on average, 9-16 other people, (and some will go as far to tell 20 or more) about the bad service experience they had with a company. Plain and simple, that is reverse marketing at its’ finest

Creating Hoops for the Customer
Too often, companies and organizations will create hoops for their clients and customers to jump through, when they want to return an item or cancel a service and get a refund. Somehow they believe that since this customer is a lost sale they will try to delay or detour the final transaction as long as possible. Possibly, the thinking is that the customer will give up and go away without a refund. While this may be the result from time to time, it inadvertently creates a negative ripple effect. Regarding this type of treatment, besides credit card companies, other organizations that can serve as “bad examples” for the rest of us are: colleges and universities and their no refund policy after their “adjustment date”, cell phone companies with their notorious two year contracts, automobile dealerships with their no return policies, airlines and their fees to change flights or heaven forbid, when you want to cancel a planned trip. These are just a few examples. The list goes on and on and on.

Make It Simple to Get a Refund
My suggestion is, to make it simple to get a refund from your company or organization. Will people take unfair advantage? A very small percentage will, but as one owner of a company said, “Why should I let the small minority of my customers, the bad ones, dictate to me how I should treat the majority of my customers, the good ones?”

Here is my point. Make it just as easy and painless to get a refund from your organization as it is to buy your service or product. The result will be a positive marketing strategy that will create good will and future profits.


If you are interested in a better career in customer service visit www.customerservicejobs.com

Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. He helps companies and organization become more successful and profitable by helping them attract and retain their customers and clients.