Kevin Stirtz’s Amazing Service Rule #48:
Thank your customers for complaining
One of the situations people hate most is dealing with customer complaints.
This is too bad because customer complaints offer a goldmine of information to companies, if they deal with them effectively.
The first step to making better use of customer complaints is to view them in a positive light. Start by calling them “feedback” rather than complaints. Then make sure your policies and procedures show that customer feedback is valued by the company, not something to sweep under the rug.
When handling a customer complaint you need to take it seriously. See the customer as offering feedback, not as criticizing you or your employer. Don’t get defensive!
Let the customer know you value their feedback. Take notes and ask questions so you understand what frustrated them. If you don’t understand the problem you’ll never be able to fix it.
Never offer excuses or blame for a situation the customer is unhappy with. They don’t care how it happened. They just want it fixed.
Of course you should always apologize to a customer who has a complaint or concern. Remember, by apologizing you’re not taking blame for causing the situation. But you are taking responsibility for moving past it to a solution. And that’s what the customer wants.
Warning: Never apologize like this:
“I’m sorry if you feel that way”
(Or some variant of this theme.)
That’s a cop-out. That’s saying you really don’t care about their dissatisfaction.
It’s better to say “I’m sorry this happened” or simply: “I’m sorry”.
Never offer a discount on future products or services as a way of compensating them. That’s like telling them “I understand you’re not happy with our service (or product). Why don’t you come back for more but at a lower price?”
If you want your customers to come back after they’ve had a problem, assure them you’ll fix it. Otherwise you’ve given them no reason to come back.
And finally, thank your customers for their feedback. Over 90% of unhappy customers never complain or offer feedback directly. They’ll tell their friends, family, neighbors and the Internet. But they won’t tell you.
So when a customer DOES take time to tell you, let them know how much you appreciate their efforts. They are going out of their way to help your company do better. And they want your company to do better because they want to remain a loyal customer.
Honor their efforts by listening, by apologizing, by using their feedback to fix the problem and by thanking them.
Other articles you might like:
- How to Handle Customer Complaints
- How to Handle Customer Complaints: Tip 3
- 5 Steps to turn complaints into loyal customers
- An apology can deliver better customer service
- President Obama offers useful customer service lesson
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Hi Kevin,
I liked the progression of this post as it lays out nicely the steps in handling incoming “complaints” from customers and turning it into valuable insight. When you stated, “Honor their efforts by listening, by apologizing, by using their feedback to fix the problem and by thanking them,” it should come as no surprise to people reading this that simplicity is the essence when you’re trying to figure out what to do with complaints or as we like to call them “suggestions.” If you don’t have some type of technology in place to handle this process in an automated, the tips that Kevin gives are great and should be in the back of your head each time you are put in a situation like the one above.
Great insight, very helpful.
thanks
BJ
This is an excellent article. This shows that it is important to get the feedback of the customer and to integrate it into the way your company operates. When customers have complaints or feedback, it is important to consider it as market research. Customers will tell you exactly what they want, and exactly how they expect you to handle them. Take their feedback seriously and develop the culture to seek out their feedback. By doing this, you will hopefully reduce the complaints and get the comments when it truly is feedback on how to better service your customers.