Nobody likes to receive a complaint, but complaints are worth their weight in gold if an organization learns from them and then uses the information to improve the customer experience. Customer complaints can be used to create a better customer experience and turn a dissatisfied customer into an enthusiastic fan.
A good response to a customer complaint also guarantees that you will receive that particular complaint only once. The company will know how to handle that problem in advance in the future.
- Customer complaints are usually not personal. When employees understand that the customer’s anger is directed at the company, not the employee, they can better manage customer emotions. If the employee doesn’t take a customer’s comments personally, it will help them stay calm. Staying calm, in turn, will help calm the client more quickly.
- Focus on the customer instead of the complaint. Customer focus will help the employee to empathize or “put themselves in the shoes” of the customer. It will help them listen more sympathetically to a complaining customer, which is often all the customer wants. Also, it will help them remain calm and courteous while a customer is expressing their frustrations.
- Attitude is everything in creating satisfied customers. Even the most irate customer usually calms down when dealing with someone who is obviously doing their best to understand the customer’s situation. If employees really listen to a customer’s complaint, valid or not, the customer will at least feel that he or she is being heard. Sometimes that is enough to completely dispel a negative situation.
- Let employees handle customer complaints themselves. Obviously, there will be a point where a more senior person will need to make a decision when dealing with a complaint, but training employees to handle common complaints and issues on their own will go a long way in creating a more positive experience for employees. the customer and increase the capacity of employees. commitment.
- Check before taking action. Be sure to ask what would make the customer happy, and then check before taking any action. Customers will rarely ask for more than what we are prepared to offer, so ask first what will make them happy. Once they have made their suggestions, check that if you can provide that remedy, the customer will be satisfied. There is nothing worse than working to solve a problem and finding out that the customer is still not satisfied.
- Move quickly to resolution. Once a resolution is agreed upon, move quickly. When an upset customer calls and receives an immediate solution to their problem, they are much more likely to return as a customer. In fact, a good payback builds higher customer loyalty than simply delivering what is expected, so be sure to use this to your advantage. However, the exact opposite occurs if the customer is “turned around” by being transferred from employee to manager to higher-level executive before their problem is resolved.
- Provide tools. Offer employees options when dealing with difficult customers or those who have a problem the employee can’t solve. For example, if a customer purchased an item on clearance and the store’s policy is to never accept returns on clearance items, allow associates to offer the customer a courtesy gift card, extended warranty on the item, or a bonus Similary. While it may not be exactly what the customer is asking for, it will show your appreciation and help them see that the company is working hard to satisfy the complaint.
There will be times when nothing can be done to satisfy a dissatisfied customer. At that point, the customer service employee simply needs to transfer that customer to a manager or supervisor. But employees who handle customer service complaints quickly, efficiently, and professionally will minimize those problems and give employees a sense of ownership in their jobs and in the company.
