Do you remember the movie ’10 Ways to Lose a Guy’ with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey? It was about writer who finds herself writing an article on all the classic mistakes women make that drive men away.  It’s no different when working with customers, employees make classic customer service mistakes that drive customers away. These blunders aren’t always so obvious, and while some might say that some of these infractions aren’t that bad, they will definitely make your customers ask themselves if they want to do business with you and that's never good.

 1) Not caring about customers– Taking an interest in people is at the heart of customer service.  Indifference kills customer relationships while showing caring and concern for your customers can make your business successful.

2) Ignoring customers – Have you ever walked into a store and all the employees are just standing around or paying attention to everything except you…the customer? It is uncomfortable! Worse is if they see you waiting and tell you they’ll be with you in minute only to finish their conversation with each other!

3) Not listening to your customers – Customers want to be heard…and even more, they want to be UNDERSTOOD. If you can’t effectively communicate with them, your customers will tell everyone they know ‘I don’t like doing business with them; they don’t understand what I want’.

4) Not getting back to customers – Nothing says more about a company than silence. Have you ever sent a company a message or sent and e-mail or tweet only to get…no response?  It’s so frustrating! You contacted them because you had a need, complaint or problem.  When a company doesn’t respond a bad customer service situation is made worse.

5) Not showing appreciation – Feeling appreciated is a basic need for nearly all people. Customers want businesses to appreciate when they spend their hard-earned cash with them.  So don’t forget to open your mouth and your heart and say ‘Thank You!’