I read a great article on customer service and how business, specifically web developers, make some pretty common errors when dealing with customers. Having been both sides of this equation I find it a good opportunity to share my perceptions on each side with those that have been in need of web development assistance.
Tom Ewers’s 6 WordPress Dev Mistakes You’re Making (That Clients Are Too Polite to Mention) from the Elegant Themes Blog is a great reference for some common customer service issues that can plague a variety of businesses. The best point which Tom flips is the statistic on who reports issues.
Let’s flip that around to make the point clear: 96% of your clients won’t tell you when they have a problem. Yikes!
This is flipping his reference to a Help Scout article reporting a typical business hears from only 4% of its dissatisfied customers.
I have seen this first hand in so many areas of life, not just businesses. If you are a business owner, you definitely need to heed this statistic, but I have found that as musicians, promoters, marketers or even coaches, we all should pay attention to those that do take the time to give us feedback. Even if one parent on a team is bringing something to your attention, you should listen to better understand if more parents feel the same way.
The key for me is to take this awareness with me throughout my day. Where there is feedback there is an opportunity to improve in everything you do!