Nobody likes to handle customer/client complaints, but these sometimes painful occurrences can be a chance for you and your business to shine. Excellent customer service should always be a priority, but in the unfortunate event that you receive a customer/client complaint, here are ways or tips on how to handle it.
1. Stay Calm
Getting upset, losing your cool, or yelling at a customer is never a good thing. You are more likely to make good progress and satisfy your customer/client’s needs if you approach the problem with a calm state of mind.
2. Listen
Active listening techniques can, and should, be used with your customers/clients all the time. Don’t assume that you know what the customer/clients wants or needs, and don’t dismiss them as trivial either. Hear them out and pay close attention to what they’re saying.
3. Be kind
A statement such as this from the get-go lets your customer/client know that you truly care and that you are ready to listen. When a customer/client knows that you truly care, you are well on your way to finding a reasonable resolution to the customer/client complaint.
4. Acknowledge the issue
Paraphrasing what your customer/client has said and repeating it back to them lets them know that you listened and that you understand what the problem is.
5. Apologise and thank them
It may seem counterintuitive, but thanking your customer for reaching out with their issue will also show that you’re always trying to improve your business. It demonstrates that you understand where they are coming from and that you are ready to resolve the problem for them.
6. Ask Questions
After you’ve listened to your customer’s complaint and the individual has had a chance to calm down, it’s your turn to take the initiative and get all the facts. Now is the time that you can calmly start asking questions for clarification.
However, it is imperative that you do not ask questions that your customer has already answered. Making them repeat themselves can heighten emotions again and make your customer feel like you weren’t listening in the first place.
7. Make it speedy
The faster you find a reasonable solution that everyone can agree on, the happier your customer will be and you get to breathe a sigh of relief.
8. Doccument their response
Complaints often include hidden opportunities for improving your product or service. Documenting them can help you identify flaws, issues, and trends. It could be a product glitch that you need to immediately address. Or maybe it’s a campaign-specific complaint that your marketing department can look into.
9. Follow up
During this follow-up, apologize again and make sure you’ve taken care of everything they needed. At this point, if the customer is happy, there’s a really good chance that they will be returning to you for your services and that they will tell their friends and family about you and how good your customer service is.
10. Come out from behind the scene
Although it doesn’t have the same effect as an actual face-to-face conversation, video conferencing still allows you to convey emotions and non-verbal cues. This is a nice way to show that you really intend to help out and solve the experience problem that led to the complaint.
Answers & Comments
How to handle customer/client complaints
Nobody likes to handle customer/client complaints, but these sometimes painful occurrences can be a chance for you and your business to shine. Excellent customer service should always be a priority, but in the unfortunate event that you receive a customer/client complaint, here are ways or tips on how to handle it.
1. Stay Calm
Getting upset, losing your cool, or yelling at a customer is never a good thing. You are more likely to make good progress and satisfy your customer/client’s needs if you approach the problem with a calm state of mind.
2. Listen
Active listening techniques can, and should, be used with your customers/clients all the time. Don’t assume that you know what the customer/clients wants or needs, and don’t dismiss them as trivial either. Hear them out and pay close attention to what they’re saying.
3. Be kind
A statement such as this from the get-go lets your customer/client know that you truly care and that you are ready to listen. When a customer/client knows that you truly care, you are well on your way to finding a reasonable resolution to the customer/client complaint.
4. Acknowledge the issue
Paraphrasing what your customer/client has said and repeating it back to them lets them know that you listened and that you understand what the problem is.
5. Apologise and thank them
It may seem counterintuitive, but thanking your customer for reaching out with their issue will also show that you’re always trying to improve your business. It demonstrates that you understand where they are coming from and that you are ready to resolve the problem for them.
6. Ask Questions
After you’ve listened to your customer’s complaint and the individual has had a chance to calm down, it’s your turn to take the initiative and get all the facts. Now is the time that you can calmly start asking questions for clarification.
However, it is imperative that you do not ask questions that your customer has already answered. Making them repeat themselves can heighten emotions again and make your customer feel like you weren’t listening in the first place.
7. Make it speedy
The faster you find a reasonable solution that everyone can agree on, the happier your customer will be and you get to breathe a sigh of relief.
8. Doccument their response
Complaints often include hidden opportunities for improving your product or service. Documenting them can help you identify flaws, issues, and trends. It could be a product glitch that you need to immediately address. Or maybe it’s a campaign-specific complaint that your marketing department can look into.
9. Follow up
During this follow-up, apologize again and make sure you’ve taken care of everything they needed. At this point, if the customer is happy, there’s a really good chance that they will be returning to you for your services and that they will tell their friends and family about you and how good your customer service is.
10. Come out from behind the scene
Although it doesn’t have the same effect as an actual face-to-face conversation, video conferencing still allows you to convey emotions and non-verbal cues. This is a nice way to show that you really intend to help out and solve the experience problem that led to the complaint.