There are a lot of things you can do right in customer service. Make the customer happy, show them you care, and let them get involved in your business. But what about the things you shouldn’t do? There are almost just as many things not to do as there to do. Here are 5 things you should avoid doing unless you want customer service problems.

1. Do not mess up on tape

Of course mistakes are going to happen. We are all just human and human mistakes are a part of the game. It is especially true that a lot of mistakes happen in businesses where the person on top can’t always be in control of what the employees are doing all the time. However, even if we all make mistakes, customers aren’t very forgiving, especially when the proof is blatant and on camera. This is the main problem airlines have been having lately where it seems like all interactions are being recorded in order to ensure customers are being treated fairly. Make sure you are doing your best not to make mistakes, but it is especially important avoid messing up on tape.

2. Don’t mess with the elderly

Our elders have a lot to teach us and should be respected. And while most people probably don’t actively work to take care of the elderly, they definitely expect businesses to do so still. Recently, Verizon shut off an elderly woman’s service because she didn’t make her payments when, in reality, she forgot to make them and was in negotiations to get everything settled as quickly as possible. There are actually rules in place to prevent this, but it happened anyway leaving an elderly woman feeling alone on her birthday because friends and family were unable to call. This is the kind of thing that people go nuts over and really cause an uproar from your customers. Do whatever you can to take care of all your customers, but be especially mindful of the elderly.

3. Don’t let pride get in the way of service

Too often, businesses or employees are so worried about their image that they are unable to simply apologize or take a step back to figure out whether or not they are really wrong. I’ve seen first hand how customers are quickly turned away and unwilling to ever return because an employee at the company was unwilling to simply say sorry. And honestly, you may not always be right. But remember there is a certain cost to acquiring a customer, and unless they are going to keep costing you money instead of making it for you, then it is worth it to suck it up and say sorry.

4. Do not limit paths for communication

Too often we are seeing businesses that want to cut corners when it comes to customers service and are avoiding adding too many paths for communication. Instead of having to keep up with all the different social media channel, customer service texting, emails, and phone calls, they simply tell customers to call if they need anything. The truth is, customers want to be able to contact you in whatever way is most accessible and easy for them to access, which means you need to provide as many opportunities to be reached as possible. The key to customer success is ensuring customers are feeling heard.

5. Do not avoid ratings

Many businesses simply avoid ratings sections of Google and websites that give ratings to their business. That is the wrong way to go about it. Not only should you encourage your customers to give you positive ratings, you should interact with your customers through social media ratings and rating websites to figure out how you can clear up the issues they are having and how you can help them be better satisfied.