In a recent study, researchers documented some surprising changes concerning the typical consumer’s interaction with the customer service departments of prominent companies.

Researchers found that consumers…

Are Less Patient:  More than 60% of consumers say that they will stop buying from a brand after a poor customer service experience. This is up from 33% from previous years.

Want Answers Quickly:  Gone are the days where consumers tolerated lengthy hold times, inefficient messaging tools, and drawn-out resolutions for their issues. Over 50% of consumers give up on companies who don’t provide answers to their problems within 10 minutes.

Are More Vocal:  About 40% of consumers say that after a poor customer service experience, they will share that experience online. And 49% also say they will tell their friends and family to stop buying from the brand.

Love Turnarounds:  The resolution of a problem from a dissatisfied customer makes that customer more loyal than if the brand had never made the initial mistake. An incredible 97% of consumers say that if a brand turned a poor experience into a positive one by solving their problems immediately, they would do business with that brand again.

Since you’re in the business of providing agents a service for a fee, the same attitudes showing up in this research will likely be present in how agents make their retention decisions.

In turn, there’s a lot of pressure for brokers to respond quickly, customize responses to problems, and find creative solutions.

From a recruiting perspective, many of your competitors will drop the ball under this kind of pressure. Disgruntled agents will seek out those who can meet their needs.

But from a retention perspective, there’s a special place of redemption for those who notice missteps and stick with a problem until it is truly resolved.

In the end, those owners who super-service their agents and are humbly admit when they’ve made a mistake have a significant advantage.