Reading Room
How to love Complainers!
There are three things you don't know about handling complaints.
1. Customers usually want less than you think.
2. Customers who have never had a problem are not as loyal as customer who have had a problem that was successfully resolved.
3. Customers who take the time to complain want to make things better.
The cheapest way...and best way, to resolve customer complaints is to ask the customer how to set things right. If you have a policy to do whatever it takes to make things right when things go wrong, simply asking the customer what it is that would make things right yields surprising results. They ask for less than you would have settled for after a negotiation.
Customers who have never had a problem are not as loyal as customers who have had a problem that was successfully resolved. Think about it. If you always deliver on your service promise, how will the customer know that you are not just consistent? How would the customer discover that more than consistent, you are insistent that the customer's needs be fully and fairly met?
The tough question is, "If this is so obvious, why are so many customer complaints so poorly handled?
The answer is fear. Fear that the customer is trying to rip you off. Fear that someone will have to take the blame and that someone might be you.
Employees often think that their job is to protect the company from the customer. Plus, they often believe that complaints are a sign of failure rather than an opportunity to grow. And none of this will change unless it is both communicated and demonstrated by top management. Who would risk stepping out of the box to resolve a customer complaint if they thought that doing so would get them sacked?
Four Steps to Service Recovery
Establish rapport. Let the customer know up front that you are on their side. This is more than an apology but that's a start.
Discover the Problem. Ask them to describe the problem exactly - just listen.
Offer a complete solution. Ask the customer what they think is right. Agree and up the ante to prove that you are serious.
Cement the relationship. Apologize again and tell what will be done to prevent a reoccurrence.
If you need a simpler rule for complaints, let it be this: Do whatever it takes to make things right when things go wrong - no matter what.
Complainers are friends. Just try to keep your list of this kind of friend as short as possible
For further information, please contact us on 0121 355 4774 or email
info@je-consulting.co.uk or send us an enquiry.
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