5 Tips for Handling Customer Complaints

Introduction

The customer is not always right. In fact, it's amazing how often customers are wrong. But your goal as a company is to make sure that every customer, no matter how wrong they may be, is treated as well as possible. You can't make everyone happy, but you can make everyone as happy as possible. How your company handles customer complaints plays a big role in that. Handling customer complaints is not a science. It's the basics of customer service – find a way to calm any situation, no matter how tense, and do so in a way that is productive and beneficial to your company. When you handle customer complaints, always: Apologize – The customer is absolutely not always right, but they are upset, and it is your business's fault that they're upset even if you did nothing wrong. You don't need to admit fault, but you do need to say something along the lines of "Absolutely, I can understand why you're upset and I apologize." Agree – The more you agree with what the person says, the more they lose their argument. Statements like "absolutely" and "definitely" make it difficult for a customer to stay upset, because they're entering the discussion expecting some type of defensiveness. If you agree with everything they say, they will have less to respond to or be upset about. Listen – Let the person vent a little. Human beings are not very good at expressing intense emotion for an extended period of time. If you're the one doing a lot of the talking, the person will have more to say as a response. Let them vent it out and you'll reduce the damage. Also, sometimes you'll find that there is hidden useful information even in the most irrational of customers. For example someone's upset that a price isn't what they expected, it may indicate that the price tag is not obvious enough, items have been moved, items have not been reorganized recently, etc. Offer Something – Businesses that offer something to customers that are upset almost always show a level of commitment to satisfaction that customers can appreciate. A coupon, store credit, a small gift – it doesn't matter what you offer, but if you genuinely give them something for their trouble they'll often find your company less upsetting. Train Employees – Finally, if all employees are trained with customer complaint techniques, you improve your customer service even further. Often managers come in and intervene when a customer has a problem, but that still causes the customer to believe the employee was at fault. If all employees recognize these customer complaint strategies, your business will appear much stronger. Your goal is to make every customer as happy as possible. How you handle customer complaints plays a big role in that. Learn to handle them correctly and you'll find that your overall customer satisfaction will increase.