A lack of accountability from firms whereby they don't apologize, atone and try to improve after a failure. | A lack of features such as a bank that doesn't support cryptographic security keys for sign in. |
A lack of privacy such as a service that requires much personal information to order a concert ticket. | A lack of respect such as a service rep who talks down to the customer. |
A perceived violation of trust such as a bank that suddenly increases fees or rates without any apparent justification. | A service that requires much learning / time investment to perform simple tasks. |
Attempts to upsell or cross-sell instead of addressing the customer's request. | Automated customer service that asks dozens of questions but never gets you any closer to a solution. |
Being asked the same question many times. | Being directed to non-preferred channels. For example, a customer who rarely makes a phone call who needs to call customer service. |
Decision fatigue such as overly complex product and service features that make a satisfying choice difficult. | Devices that can't be repaired / upgraded. |
Dumbing down of information such that it is obvious or useless. | Excessive marketing / pushy offers. |
Excessive product change such as a shampoo that is often changing its formation and design. | Failure to meet commitments / promises. |
Firms that claim they are unable to solve problems such as incorrect charges. | General incompetence such as a service that asks for feedback the first second you ever visit it. |
High costs and price instability. | Inability to integrate things / get things working as one. |
Incomprehensible or incorrect bills. | Incomprehensible terms of service. |
Inconvenient paywalls whereby a large number of providers demand that you join a service. | Inefficiency such as a printer that demands a new cartridge after printing a few dozen pages. |
Insufficient information security. | Lack of backward compatibility whereby a service upgrade results in the loss of old settings, data or documents. |
Lack of comfort such as a flight with cramped seating. | Lack of consistency such as a restaurant with highly variable quality. |
Lack of high touch services such as a technology company that has almost completely automated customer service. | Lack of self-service tools. |
Late / slow delivery. | Long wait times for service. |
Managing a large number of different points / rewards programs such that they become an annoyance as opposed to a benefit. | Missing configuration / unable to customize. |
Non-standard practices such as a service that makes you pick a password according to bizarre rules. | Orders that never arrive. |
Over-personalization whereby a service keeps changing based on your every action. | Overcommunication such as a service that follows up or asks for feedback too often. |
Overly verbose / indirect information. | Poor quality items |
Poor usability | Pop-ups and other disruptions to flow. |
Products and services that aren't explained in detail. | Products that are slow to upgrade such as a game platform that seldom upgrades consoles. |
Products that don't match descriptions. | Products that don't perform as expected. |
Questions not answered in an informative way. | Services aren't compatible with third party offerings. |
Services or agents that fail to represent the customer's best interests. | Services that are self-absorbed such as an app that makes you page through dozens of news items about the app every time you use it. |
Services that are slow. | Services that demand constant updates such that they lack stability. |
Services that do not allow the customer to control things. | Services that go offline for periods of time. |
Services that increase prices after joining. | Services that lock the customer in. |
Services that quickly delete data such as a bank that only maintains 13 months of transaction history. | Services, software and devices that are unstable such that they crash. |
Slow services | Things that are difficult to use. |
Things that are out of stock. | Too little information such as hundreds of records that must be displayed 5 at a time. |
Too much information such as a restaurant that explains how the restaurant works when this is obvious. | Unable to access desired content such as news, media, films and music. |
Unable to find a color, style or size. | Unable to find product or service that has a function or feature. |
Unfriendly customer service | Unprofessional / unhelpful customer service. |
Unreliable products | Variable costs such that usage needs to be carefully monitored. |
Vendor lock-in whereby it is difficult to leave a product or service. |
| Overview: Customer Issues | ||
Type | ||
Definition (1) | A negative customer experience, negative customer perception or specific problem with a product or service. | |
Definition (2) | An unmet customer need. | |
Related Concepts | ||
