Customer Effort: Why Customers Lack Order Information When Calling Customer Service

Two words: Customer Effort. In today's world, fixing issues quickly and efficiently is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction. However, it's equally important to prioritize the overall customer experience. When customers have to exert unnecessary effort to resolve their issues, the quality of their experience wanes.

The primary reason customers fail to provide their order information, even when they're calling to resolve an issue, is the effort it requires. Often, customers do not even attempt to take down all the necessary details on their initial call because they're solely focused on resolving their immediate problem.

Customer Experience Matters

Remember, when a customer calls in, their sole objective is to get their issue fixed promptly. They are not thinking about the process your customer service needs to follow to resolve their issue. This is your call center's responsibility, and placing any task on the customer increases their effort and can diminish their experience.

Technology Aids in Enhancing Service

Fortunately, technology offers solutions to this challenge. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can be a game changer. These systems allow you to access and manage customer data, which means you can retrieve essential information, such as order details, quickly and accurately.

Another useful tool is an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system. ACD systems can identify customers as they enter your call center queue, allowing your agents to have all necessary customer information prepared before making a call to the customer. This streamlines the process and enhances the customer experience.

Improving Customer Service Through Enhanced Experience

By focusing on improving the customer experience, you can also improve customer loyalty. At the core of customer service is the goal of providing superior service that meets and exceeds customer expectations. If you need help in identifying other improvement areas, our free diagnostic can provide a comprehensive review of your contact center processes.

The Devil's Advocate: A Different Perspective

Let's play devil's advocate for a moment and ask, “Why doesn’t customer service have my order information available when I call in?”

The key word here is "customer service." If you’re a customer service representative or a company providing customer service, your primary goal is to serve the customer. The expectation should be minimal—customers should only need to confirm their identity. After all, looking up an order using a name, address, or credit card number is a fundamental task that most modern systems can handle. Even Bob Cratchet in Ebenezer Scrooge’s office could perform this task.

What truly frustrates customers are companies that automate this process with convoluted voice interactions, leading to multiple interrogations and repeated questions. This is not only a waste of time but also a poor reflection on the company's commitment to customer service.

Suppliers of such automated systems often do not clarify the necessary steps to make these systems seamless, nor do they explain the ongoing maintenance required. This can lead customers to feel distant from your company, as if you're creating artificial barriers between them and the people they're trying to reach. This can perpetuate a culture where customer service becomes a mere formality, rather than a genuine commitment to improvement.

So, to the question as asked: My answer is, "Why should they?" Customer service should be a seamless and efficient process, not an obstacle.