Customer Complaints

 

How to Handle Customer Complaints

Not everyone that deals with your firm is going to be happy with your product or service. Handling customer complaints properly can help you deal with the issue at hand, while giving you the opportunity to retain the customer. Before you deal with a customer whose expectations were not met, consider these steps to resolve matters in a favourable manner.

1. Give your staff the authority to deal with the customer’s concern

Since you know that some customers will complain, teach your staff how to deal with common situations appropriately. If the concern is a relatively minor one, allow them to deal with it promptly by offering a refund or replacement as necessary.

2. Listen to the customer’s concerns carefully

All customers want to feel that they are being listened to and that their concerns are being taken seriously. Allow the customer to explain what the issue is without interrupting. If the complainant feels that his or her concerns are not being taken seriously, it will only serve to escalate the situation.

3. Empathise with the customer

When you and your staff use words like, “I see” and “I understand” it shows the customer that you are on his or her side. The situation is diffused from one where you and the customer are at odds, to one where you can start to work on a solution that makes sense to both of you.

4. Apologise for the inconvenience

An important part of making the other person feel that his or her concerns are being taken seriously is to apologize for the inconvenience and any loss the customer has experienced in dealing with you. If you have listened carefully and apologised sincerely, it will help the customer to move past being annoyed and will help in moving positively to the next step in dealing with a customer’s complaint.

5. Offer a solution to the issue

If the customer received a defective product or wasn’t happy with the service he or she was given, determine what you, as a business owner or manager, needs to do to make it right in the customer’s eyes. This does not mean that a customer with an unjustified complaint should hold your business hostage.

When dealing with customer complaints, your efforts should be directed to understanding and empathy. You then need to find a solution to the issue. Keeping these three goals in mind will help you to resolve the problem effectively.

More tips on how to handle customer complaints:

The 3 Things Complaining Customers Fear Most
by Guy Winch Ph.D.
Service recovery encounters can be better managed by understanding the mindset of complaining customers.

6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden
by Kevin Wirth
Kevin Wirth explains why we should regard customer complaints as opportunities.

How to Handle Customer Complaints
by Kevin Stirtz
Here are a few rules to follow when things don't go right with customers.

How to Turn Customer Service Complaints into Profits
by Robert Moment
Boost your profits by dealing with complaints positively.

Embrace Your Customer’s Complaints
by Dave D’Arcy
Improve your service by welcoming your customer's concerns.

Complaints Are Actually A Good Thing!
by Diane C. Hughes
Diane tells us why complaining customers are good for business.

Managing Caller Hostility on a Customer Complaint Hotline
by Larry Pfeil
Complaints can be good for you, but first you must learn how to handle them.

Learning from Your Employees' and Customers' Complaints
by Etienne Gibbs
A manager's guide to listening and learning from customer complaints.

Dealing With Customer Complaints - B.L.A.S.T
by Albert Barneto
Try using this simply method to difuse angy clients, it's a B.L.A.S.T!

Hit The Jackpot With Customer Complaints
by Allyn Cutts
Learn why complaints are golden and can how they can actually help your business succeed.