How to Handle Client Complaints
"The Customer is Always Right" was once a standard policy . In these difficult times, can we turn back the clock?
We're all human-there's no denying that. Being human means
that we are imperfect, and as such may from time to time make a
mistake. We might otherwise fall behind on our current work or
be unable to meet deadlines due to a family crisis that arises.
How you handle any complaints could be the make or break of you
as an at home worker.
The best situation of course would be that you never received a
complaint from a customer or client, and there is the
possibility that in some situations, complaint could be avoided.
If for instance you get sick or a situation arises at home
that requires your attention at the expense of your normal
working time. You should consider how you would handle the same
if you worked for a company outside of your home.
You would contact your employer, most commonly by phone to
inform them that you are unable to come in. The same should
apply to work at home, though obviously since you are both boss
and employee it would be your customers or clients who you
endeavor to contact.
Contact may be by email or telephone depending upon how you
normally do business, and should be to inform customers of the
problem and the possible delay in their order or work due. If
you are hospitalized and unable to do this it may be wise to
delegate this task to someone you trust.
This may not be enough to keep everyone happy and so you may be
left facing your first complaint or lost client, and the task
now becomes minimizing the damage to your reputation. An unhappy
customer is much more likely to talk about their experience than
a satisfied customer is. One of a number of things may satisfy
the customer and you must use your judgment as to what will
help-the same applies to complaints over the standard of your
products.
If a refund is requested it is often best to comply, especially
if you fear the client may leave bad reviews about you online.
Otherwise you may wish to see if the customer would give you a
chance to make right the situation. If they refuse, stating that
a refund is all that they want then offering to complete the
work for free after issuing a refund may prevent there being
significant ill feeling.
If the problem was with a product manufactured by you then
offering a replacement may be in order, or else repairs to the
faulty item. Some customers may become frustrated at being asked
to return an item for repair since that requires action on their
part, which would not have been necessary if you had not sent a
faulty item. Accepting the loss of that item may be needed.
Avoiding complaints where possible is the best thing for your at
home business, but where this isn't possible then the aim should
be to make your customer happy. In any customer service
business, reputation is extremely important, so protecting your
reputation must be the utmost importance. Though this may
involve the uncomfortable necessity of apologizing and eating
humble pie whilst making reparation, the results of failing to
do so may be very bad for business!.
About the Author
Debra Barrow is a small home based business owner and online marketer. With a professional background in education, business analysis and corporate financial analysis, Debra enjoys working online and discovering new technologies. http://www.inhomebizsuccess.com.
