Customer ServiceWe all deal with customer service at some level in our daily tasks. Our experiences are not always pleasant and I think there needs to be more focus on not only providing basic customer service, but also stepping up and providing quality customer service. Although there are external and internal customers, they should both receive the same respect. . The service may be provided in the form of written and oral communication. How many times have you received an email and thought, “wow, that was rude”? Have you ever listened to someone's voicemail and thought it was totally irrelevant? The tone with which we deliver our feedback, in whatever form, is a direct reflection of us. We may have thought we were being polite, but our tone could have said otherwise. In this article, I'll take a closer look at the characteristics of poor customer service, how consumers respond to poor customer service, and the characteristics of a quality customer. service. Characteristics of Bad Customer Service Bad customer service usually starts with a misunderstanding between the customer and the employee. Customer service staff don't always have the customer in mind when going about their daily business. Often they are faced with their own personal problems, the pressure of not being satisfied with their job and often the pressure of having to perform at levels they are not used to, just to earn an income. Poor customer service can come from businesses with long-standing complicated phone systems, long customer wait times, and unlicensed customer service representatives, simply due to a lack of follow-up with customers1. Until companies take control of these areas, the representatives they have working for them, customer... middle of paper ......differently, they have been treated. It is the best complement that one can give to another. Works Cited English, T. (2010). How to provide personalized customer service. Retrieved January 7, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/print/how_6655277_provide-personalized-customer-service.htmlGillian, P. (April 2007). Bad customer service creates new opportunities. B to B, 92(4), 10. Retrieved January 9, 2011 from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1257386571) Helms, M. and Mayo, D. (2008). Evaluating poor quality service: Perceptions of customer service representatives. Service Quality Management, 18(6), 610-622. Retrieved January 9, 2011 from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1600828351). Korsgaden, T. (November 1999). Provide superior customer service. Raw Notes, 142(11), 66-67. Retrieved January 7, 2011 from ABI/INFORM Global. (document ID: 46237498