It’s never easy dealing with an upset customer. How many times does it seem like someone is just looking to find trouble? However, complaining customers are most often just looking for a solution to a problem or something that is frustrating them out of their normal experience.
If you provide an excellent customer experience, go the extra mile for your customers, and follow procedures then complaints should be rare. When they do occur, however, stay calm. Breathe.
I know, staying calm is tough when your patience is challenged by a complaining customer! But running a small business and providing a customer experience means taking the good with the bad.
Your customers are your purest form of quality control. Without their feedback or approval, your business doesn’t grow and succeed. So, when customers have a complaint it’s important to hear them out because these are opportunities to improve the customer experience and prevent potential lost customers.
Here a Four easy ways to resolve customer complaints
- Listen
Let the customer voice their complaint without interruption. The biggest mistake is second-guessing a customer service gripe and trying to cut them off before they have finished their story. Use this time as your chance to identify what it is they are REALLY upset about. Remember, don’t take it personally. It’s probably not about you.
- Acknowledge
Say you understand and are sorry for the situation. An unhappy customer wants your attention and understanding. You won’t lose dignity or concede to being wrong by making the customer feel that you understand their frustration. Remember, you are saying you understand. You are not saying you agree or will give them the moon. They’ll also be more receptive to your solution.
- Solve
Offer the dissatisfied customer realsolutions, telling them what you CAN do for them. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do. You might begin by asking what they would like you to do. They may actually require very little. Sometimes we hear “I want my money back” instead of “I want to exchange this.” Resolve the complaint on the spot, whenever possible. If you plan to deal with it later, tell them exactly what you plan to do and when. Make sure you follow up and do it in a timely manner.
Be careful how you tell a customer a solution. For example, if you say, “Mary’s the only one who can give you a refund” – What you are really saying is, “Mary will give you a refund.” This may or not be what Mary wants to do. Don’t pass off a complaint for someone else to fix. Listen and put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
- Thank
ALWAYS, thank them for doing business with you. Remember, if they are satisfied, they’ll tell everyone on social media just as they will if they don’t get satisfaction.
No matter which business or industry you’re in, you’re going to deal with customer complaints. Even if your business doesn’t make a mistake, one of your customers will eventually hit a roadblock that leads them to complain or to your customer service team. These are the situations where your service reps make or break the customer’s journey. Of course we want that jounney to be a “MAGICAL” one.
If you want to increase customer retention, you need to prepare your team for scenarios they’ll face with difficult or frustrated customers. If you need more help, contact me today for a FREE STRATEGY SESSION CALL and I will break down the different types of customers complaints as well as the steps your team can take to resolve each one. Info@johnformica.com