HANDLING OPPORTUNITIES NOTES
The fact is if you are running a business, you’ll have customers who
complain. Here are some ways you can pacify angry customers and turn the
situation in your favor. Surely you have heard the old expression, “You
can’t please everyone all of the time”. Even though you may have a great
product, exemplary customer service and positive feedback, there will
always be someone lurking around the corner who you just can’t please;
no matter how hard you try. And it only takes one unhappy customer
sharing a bad experience with your business to their friends or
colleagues, or worse yet, on an internet forum board, to seriously
hamper your reputation
But all is not lost. Try to head off precarious situations before they
start. Sometimes, the biggest complainers can turn out to become your
most staunch ally. But you need to know how to placate an angry customer
or resolve an issue before you can even attempt to win them over.
How do you do that? For starters:
How To Handle Customers
1) Listen. Give the disgruntled customer a chance to tell you what is
bothering them. Try not to
get defensive or insulted right off the bat. Keep your hackles down
until you know what the problem is. It may be easy to fix. Maintain eye
contact with your customer, that way they know you are listening. Be
patient as they try to define their complaint. Try to separate what is
being said from how it is being said. Most complaints tend to come off
strong, but only because they figure they won’t get any resolution to their problem. Change their mind. And just
as important is really paying attention to what the customer is saying.
Don’t let distractions pull your attention from your customer, because
he or she will immediately sense that you’re only giving them ‘half
an ear’, which will do nothing to help your efforts to resolve the
situation.
2) Don’t Give Up. Whatever the complaint, doesn’t just say, ‘Sorry’ and
let your customer walk out the door. Try to resolve the issue so it
doesn’t come up again, either for that customer or another one. Be
respectful, no matter how rude the customer may be and always maintain a
professional demeanor. Make sure your employees are always polite and
helpful when dealing with customer complaints. Losing your temper or
having an employee respond
rudely to a customer does more damage than you’d think possible.
3) Do What’s Best for the Customer, Not You. Remember the maxim, ‘The
customer is always right’? Many people today consider such thinking
old-fashioned, but it’s actually a timeless piece of advice. Many
businesses have standard policies regarding complaints. These can range
from a free item to a discount, or to a letter of apology. But many
times, these resolutions don’t fix the original problem. Don’t tolerate
rude employees. Even if you offer a free item or discount to make up for
the trouble, assure the customer that you will do your best to make
certain the issue does not recur. Better yet, ask them what they think
and follow their suggestion if it’s within reason. Show your customer
that their business and their satisfaction are important to you.
How To Handle Customers
4) Keep your Cool. It’s easy to grow defensive when criticized. But when
such criticism does arise, try to remain calm and remember the following
points.
- Don’t take complaints personally. Customers just want what they paid
for. Just like you. They know nothing about you; they don’t know
that you just had an argument with your spouse, or that your mother
is sick in the hospital. They aren’t yelling at you. They just know
they aren’t happy, for whatever reason, with either a service or a
product. It’s your job to make sure they
walk away, if not happy, at least placated whenever possible. Try to
remember that word-ofmouth still goes a long way, even in today’s
technology-driven society. - Don’t dwell on the past. After an incident with an unhappy customer
passes, don’t dwell on what could have been. Focus instead on the
future and preventing the incident from happening again. Try to
repair problems in communication, customer support and head off
potential problems before they occur. - Do your best to fix the problem. After you have listened to the
customer and offered a resolution, your customer
may still be unhappy. Accept the fact that some people are just downright difficult and nothing you do will please them. If you’ve done your best to fix the situation, then you need to be able to just let it go. - Strive to always improve. We all learn from our mistakes. Or we
should. Appreciate your ‘good’ customers, but learn from your ‘bad’
ones. Don’t let a complaint ruin your day, but don’t ignore it,
either. Constantly look for ways to improve customer relations and
your experiences with ‘bad’ customers should dwindle.
Remember, you will have customers who complain. It goes with the
territory. But if you take the time to try and resolve their complaints
with courtesy, honesty and integrity, you’ll go a long way in smoothing
ruffled feathers. Your business wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for
customers, so remember that a smile and an effort to change a situation
always win out over a scowl and a bad attitude. You’ll feel better, and
so will your customers.
