Plans are of limited value, but planning and preparation are everything, yes? No matter how fantastic your product is or how high you set your customer service expectations, customer service issues will inevitably come up.
You must be very good at responding to customer service complaints.
If you have a good policy for responding to customer complaints, your efforts can pay off in droves.
The cost of replacing an item or offering a refund is often recouped by the loyalty you receive in return when you go above and beyond the call of duty to fix the situation.
Watch this short video from Shep to learn about Customer Service issues.
Responding to customer service issues.
Meanwhile, research has shown customers who have had a complaint satisfactorily resolved are extremely likely to recommend a business to others – a bit of free advertising and a potential bonus to be recorded by your customer management software.
To be sure, pure “scripts” by employees are the antithesis of great service. However, given the variable nature of interacting with customers, it’s easy to see how support champs can certainly benefit from some forward thinking in dealing with tough scenarios.
This is where flexible responses—instead of pure scripts—can be quite useful.
They allow your employees to have some idea of what to say to customers in a tough situation, but also give them the flexibility to adapt and add their personality.
Here are some tips on where to begin with customer service issues arise:
Take all issues seriously
Respond to a customer issue promptly and with due attention to convey the message that you take them all seriously. Establish a standard system for logging and handling complaints to ensure that all employees are using a similar approach.
You can use your customer management software as part of this system.
When a product isn’t available
No eCommerce store owner or support champion likes to tell a customer that an item isn’t currently available, but there is a much better way to go about it.
One of the most important skills in interacting with customers is the use of positive language.
Here’s an example: let’s say a customer contacts you with interest in a particular product, but that product happens to be back ordered until next month.
Without positive language: “I can’t get you that product until next month; it is back-ordered and unavailable at this time.”
With positive language: “That product will be available next month. I can place the order for you right now and make sure that it is sent to you as soon as it reaches our warehouse!”
Positive languages eschew negative phrases (“I can’t…”) and instead places emphasis on the solution, which is what the customer cares about.
Try finding places in your response where a lot of negative languages is present (“We don’t do that”) and see where positive language can be substituted.
Concentrate on offering next steps and potential solutions to the customer’s problem, rather than trying to explain why something went wrong in the first place.
When product features won’t work
Customers can often have some valuable insights into how your product is used and how it could be improved, but your product’s vision is your responsibility. Thus the final call is left to you.
If it is very obvious that a feature request a customer has sent in won’t make the cut, you have to be able to tell them so. Saying, “We’ll take a look!” gives false hope that can end up with a customer checking in weeks later, only to be disappointed again.
The truth is, you don’t need to be worried about a mass exodus of customers just because you regularly say “no” to many product features.
Identify with the customer’s point of view
Step out of your business-owner shoes and imagine yourself in the customer’s place. How would you feel? Would you be upset? Be honest with yourself in your assessment and let these feelings inform your response.
When transferring a customer
There isn’t a single consumer out there who likes hearing, “Please hold while we transfer you. Your call is very important to us.”
The problem is, sometimes you do need to transfer customers to help them better. The problem is that many businesses don’t seek to help customers understand why they are being transferred.
Acknowledge their concerns
Even if you don’t agree with what a customer is saying, it is important to demonstrate you have listened to their point of view and can understand where they are coming from.
Your language may vary based on your assessment of the situation, ranging from “Sorry, we completely missed the mark” if your business is clearly in the wrong to “I see that we did not fulfill your expectations” if the customer’s complaint is unwarranted.
You don’t know?
You shouldn’t beat yourself up for not knowing an answer. After all, a support rep’s responsibility is to have the tenacity to make things right, not to be perfect (especially true if you’re new).
The mistake many support reps make, however, is in using the knee-jerk “I don’t know” response, which doesn’t help the customer. The customer may be sympathetic that you don’t know, but they’re not interested in hearing about it.
How to handle customer service complaints effectively.
Favors that cannot be accomplished
Can’t you bend the rules just this once?!”
To be frank, most requests from customers are very reasonable, and every effort should be made to make them happy.
Bob Farrell describes this as “giving them the pickle,” a phrase which refers to a letter he received from an unhappy customer who wasn’t able to get an extra pickle for his hamburger.
We call these “frugal wows,” but the idea is the same—a small request fulfilled can often leave a very positive impact on a customer, which is why it’s almost always worth it to just ‘give them the pickle.’
Responding to customer service issues … defective product
Having a purchase come up short is very disheartening from the customer’s perspective. I’m sure we’ve all ran into this scenario: after finally convincing ourselves to pull the trigger on a purchase, we wait with excitement until it’s delivered…only to have it arrive broken.
We all internally recognize that even great companies can’t build and ship everything perfectly, but it’s just so frustrating to be the person on the receiving end of a dud.
Showing empathy to the customer’s situation thus becomes very important, following with an immediate explanation of how you’re going to fix the situation. Consider the following example:
I’m so sorry about that, that’s very disappointing! There might have been a slight mistake in the manufacturing process, or perhaps it was damaged while being shipped. Can I send a new one out to you right away?”
While long, it completes three important objectives: it empathizes with the customer’s frustrating experience, it explains what the problem might be (instead of having a customer assume, “we make crap products”), and it offers a clear and immediate solution.
Depending on what you sell and how you conduct business, you might also add, “or should I send you a full refund?” Either way, know that in this situation it’s the ability to relate to a customer that counts.
Solicit suggestions for next steps
If you are not sure how to respond to a customer’s complaint, you may want to turn the question back around on them and solicit suggestions for a next step.
If you don’t like their answer, you are under no obligation to honor their request.
Customer service complaints … be realistic with your promises
If you can’t do something, don’t promise that you will. Only commit to offering real solutions to the customer’s problem.
Thank the customer
Because so few dissatisfied customers take the time and effort to let a business know how they feel, it is important to thank them for doing so.
If you want to go one step further, you could follow up with a letter down the line that explains how their feedback has helped you improve your operations. Include a coupon or gift certificate as a token of your appreciation.
Customer service complaints … how to effectively close
One of my favorite tips for dealing with customers is to make sure that you always“close” a conversation. This has nothing to do with closing a sale, and everything to do with making sure the conversation with a customer is complete.
This is important because as you’ll recall, the average business only hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers. You needn’t add to that harrowing statistic by leaving people you’ve helped with an unsolved dilemma.
Your willingness to ensure that a customer is leaving perfectly happy shows them three important things:
You care about getting it right.
You’re willing to keep going until you get it right.
The customer is the one who determines what “right” is.
Try ending your conversation with a phrase like the following:
Excellent! I’m glad we were able to get that sorted out for you. Before you go, was there anything else I could assist you with today? I’m happy to help.”
Customers who have lost their cool
Support champions are often required to act as lightning rods: to take the brunt of an emotional, angry customer despite the fact that it is not their fault.
Sometimes this anger from customers is unjustified, and other times they have a cause for their actions. Either way, it’s often quite hard to win back a severely angry customer (even the best businesses can’t make everyone happy), but the smart folks at Telephone Doctor have a great system called “ASAP” for dealing with these most difficult of customers:
Apologize sincerely: “I’m sorry” is a mandatory response in these situations, even if it isn’t your fault. Consider your “I’m truly sorry about that” as a personal apology to the customer that the experience wasn’t up to their expectations, not that you are to blame.
Sympathize: As you might have guessed, many times angry customers are just as interested (if not more interested) in hearing that someone empathizes with their situation over getting the actual problem fixed.
Even if you cannot understand a customer (“Why are they so angry?”), you can imagine how you’d like to be treated if you happened to be that upset. Even small phrases like, “I understand how upsetting that must have been,” can have an impact on getting the customer to realize that you’re on their team in this pursuit to make things right.
The bottom line
Need some help in building better customer service for your customers? Have you noticed the growing importance of customer service you provide, especially for your marketing?
Creative ideas to help enhance your word of mouth marketing?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your customer service improvement and pay for results.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas for your service to customers.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer service from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Digital Spark Marketing, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
Dealing with difficult customers can be challenging, to say the least. But if you handle the situation well, you may even be able to improve your dealing with customer complaints. That is an awesome end game and should create further opportunities for your business.
Make sure that you listen actively to his problems or complaints, and resist the urge to interrupt or solve the problem right away. Be empathic and understanding, and make sure that your body language communicates this.
If you’re not sure how to fix the situation, then ask your client what will make him happy. If it’s in your power, then get it done as soon as possible. Follow up with your customer to make sure he was happy with how the situation was resolved.
Many of us have to deal with angry or unhappy clients as part of our roles, and it’s never easy. But if we know what to say and, more importantly, how to say it, we may be able to save the situation. In fact, we can even end up with a better relationship with our client than we had before.
In this article, we’ll explore how to deal with angry or difficult customers. We’ll highlight specific tips and techniques that you can use to smooth things over so that you can leave them feeling satisfied.
Before our tips on dealing with unhappy customers, let me tell you a story I experienced first hand.
A while back I was sitting on the runway in Orlando as my homeward-bound Jet Blue flight was about to taxi toward takeoff. Like just about every other flight that hadn’t already been canceled that day on the Eastern seaboard, ours was a couple of hours late departing. The lead flight attendant gets on the P.A. system and says something very close to:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we know we’re late taking off, and even though it’s the weather and not something we caused, we’re going to comp everybody’s movies for this flight. We know you’ve all had a long day and we want it to end with something nice and relaxing. And for those of you who were supposed to be on the Continental flight and ended up here, we don’t ever want you to go back.”
The mood on the flight — which could have been a rather dreary late evening affair — took an immediate upswing. People joked and smiled and made eye contact. They were noticeably brighter and calmer as the flight progressed. And I’m writing about the experience today, and several thousand business travelers are reading about it.
What enabled this relatively small act of kindness and allowed it to become a major brand statement? Midflight, I went to the back of the plane and asked. I wanted to know the policy that allowed a flight attendant to make such a call.
“We’re allowed to make almost any decision,” the flight attendant explained, “as long as we can justify it by one of the airline’s five core values: Safety, Caring, Integrity, Fun or Passion. If we can tie doing something back to one of these principles, the decision is going to be supported by the company.”
What JetBlue was saying to its employees … “If you act in support of the values that matter to our business, we want you to take risks to care for our customers.”
This is a very simple concept, eh? But how many of us put such a thing into practice with our people. Sit down today with your employees and do what Jet Blue did.
So let’s examine some useful tips on dealing with unhappy customers:
Once you’re aware that your client is unhappy, then your priority is to put yourself into a customer service mindset.
This means that you set aside any feelings you might have that the situation isn’t your fault, or that your client has made a mistake, or that he or she is giving you unfair criticism.
All that matters is that you realize that your customer or client is upset and that it’s up to you to solve the problem. Adjust your mindset so that you’re giving 100 percent of your focus to your client, and to the current situation.
Listen Actively
The most important step in the whole of this process is listening actively to what your client or customer is saying – he wants to be heard, and to air his grievances.
Start the dialogue with a neutral statement, such as, “Let’s go over what happened,” or “Please tell me why you’re upset.” This subtly creates a partnership between you and your client and lets him know that you’re ready to listen.
Resist the temptation to try to solve the situation right away, or to jump to conclusions about what happened. Instead, let your client tell you his story. As he’s talking, don’t plan out what you’re going to say when he’s done – this isn’t active listening!
Also, don’t allow anything to interrupt this conversation. Give your client all of your attention.
Resolving customer complaints … repeat what you heard
Once he’s had time to explain why he’s upset, repeat his concerns, so you’re sure that you’re addressing the right issue. If you need to, ask questions to make sure that you’ve identified the problem correctly.
Use calm, objective wording. For example, “As I understand it, you are, quite rightly, upset because we didn’t deliver the samples that we promised you last week.”
Repeating the problem shows the customer you were listening, which can help lower his anger and stress levels. More than this, it helps you agree on the problem that needs to be solved.
Show legitimate empathy and apologize
Angry customer scenarios.
Once you’re sure that you understand your client’s concerns, be empathic . Show her you understand why she’s upset.
And, make sure that your body language also communicates this understanding and empathy.
For example, you could say, “I understand why you’re upset. I would be too. I’m very sorry that we didn’t get the samples to you on time, especially since it’s caused these problems.”
Dealing with unhappy customers … offer a solution
Now you need to present her with a solution. There are two ways to do this.
If you feel that you know what will make your client happy, tell her how you’d like to correct the situation.
You could say, “I know you need these samples by tomorrow to show to your customers. I will call our other clients to see if they have extras that they can spare, and, if they do, I’ll drop them off at your offices no later than 5:00 pm this evening.”
If you’re not sure you know what your client wants from you, or if they resist your proposed solution, then give her the power to resolve things. Ask her to identify what will make her happy.
For instance, you could say, “If my solution doesn’t work for you, I’d love to hear what will make you happy. If it’s in my power, I’ll get it done, and if it’s not possible, we can work on another solution together.”
Rapid action and follow-up
Once you’ve both agreed on a solution, you need to take action immediately. Explain every step that you’re going to take to fix the problem to your client
If she has contacted you by phone, make sure that she has your name and contact details. This gives her a feeling of control because she can get hold of you again if she needs to.
Once the situation has been resolved, follow up with your client over the next few days to make sure that she’s happy with the resolution. Whenever you can, go above and beyond her expectations. For instance, you could send her a gift certificate, give her a great discount on her next purchase, or send her a hand-written apology.
Use the feedback
Your last step is to reduce the risk of the situation happening again.
If you haven’t already done so, identify how the problem started in the first place. Was there a bottleneck that slowed shipment? Did a sales rep forget to confirm an order?
Find the root of the problem and make sure it’s fixed immediately, then consider using Kaizen to continue improving your work practices. Also, ensure that you’re managing complaints and feedback effectively, so that you can improve that way that you do things.
Additional tips
It’s important to handle difficult customers professionally. Learning how to stay calm and how to stay cool under pressure can help you get through challenging situations with grace and professionalism.
If your client is especially angry, then talk slowly and calmly, and use a low tone of voice. This will subtly help lower the tension, and ensure that you don’t escalate the situation by visibly getting stressed or upset yourself.
If your client has sent you a difficult email or they’re angry with you over the phone, then offer to meet with him or her in person if you can to address the problem. This will not only diffuse anger (since it’s harder for most people to get truly angry face to face) but it also shows that you genuinely want to address and fix the situation.
If you feel that your client is unreasonable, you might start to get upset, especially if he or she is criticizing you, or your organization, unfairly. So learn anger management skills so that you can stay calm in these situations.
Occasionally a client or customer may become verbally abusive towards you or your team. Know in advance what you’ll tolerate, and what you won’t. If things escalate, you may need to be assertive and stand up for yourself, or even walk away from the situation to give the client time to cool down.
People in your team might be the ones on the “front line” when it comes to dealing with difficult customers. Make sure that they know how to engage correctly in emotional labor. (This means that they should know how to manage their emotions when dealing with difficult people.)
Work on improving your conflict resolution skills. These skills can help you if you need to negotiate with your clients.
The Bottom Line
It shouldn’t take more than one unpleasant experience for a business owner to realize that proactive measures are more effective when it comes to customer service than having to respond to an unhappy customer. The tips mentioned here represent just a portion of the steps a business owner can take to set things right with a customer who’s disappointed, angry, or upset.
Although the situation might be slightly different when dealing with a customer who’s downright nasty, the principles applied are still the same: an unhappy customer will wreak havoc on a business’s reputation unless the business owner rectifies the situation.
There will be times when nothing can be done to satisfy an unhappy customer. At that point, the customer service employee must simply defer that customer to a manager or supervisor. But employees who handle customer service complaints quickly, efficiently and professionally will minimize those issues and will give employees a sense of ownership in their jobs and the company.
Need some help in building better customer trust from your customer experiences? Creative ideas to help grow your customer relationships?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job and pay for results.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas to make your customer experiences better.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer experience from our Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
