Customer Complaints are a “Good Thing”
October 12th, 2009 at 06:56pm Lorie Obernauer
Have you ever had a customer who was unhappy with your products and/or services, yet didn’t let you know? Have you ever considered that this customer may have told all their friends and family about their dissatisfaction? Have you ever thought that customer complaints were really a good thing?
If customers let us know that they are dissatisfied, we have the opportunity to do something positive and hopefully, retain that customer’s business. But for many of us, it not easy to handle complaints. Let’s face it: no one likes to be yelled at!
In an article in The Gourmet Retailer, author Maggie Bayless describes five steps for handling customer complaints:
- Acknowledge the complaint.
- Sincerely apologize.
- Make it right.
- Say thanks.
- Write it up.
I suggest that you read the full article to get the full benefit. An important thing that I was reminded is that dealing to customer complaints is not a matter of finding out “who’s right and who’s wrong”. Rather, it’s a recognition that for some reason, our customer is dissatisfied and as business owners, it’s our job to turn this “dissatisfaction” into “satisfaction”. If we can focus on this “service” aspect of doing business, I believe that success will automatically follow!
Entry Filed under: Business Tips, Customer Service, Employee Training
2 Comments Add your own
1. Shirley George Frazier | October 13th, 2009 at 8:31 am
At first it’s easy to think that a complaint is a bother, but as the business matures, we realize that complaints are a blessing.
Complaints allow you to fix problems you didn’t know existed. It also helps you realize what types of products and services benefit our clients.
If you receive an complaints in abundance, it’s time to stop whatever you’re doing and fix the problems. But if you receive few complaints, that’s a very good sign that your business is thriving.
2. Start a Gift Basket Business | October 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 am
The ability to deal with complaints comes easier to some than others.
For one thing you have to swallow your pride and admit that a mistake was made (sometimes even if you feel that it wasn’t your mistake). Taking it calmly and professionally is the best way to go.
You can usually turn complaints around into a positive thing not only by seeing them as a learning experience to improve upon but also as a way to bounce back and establish an even better relationship with the complainer.
If you handle the complaint right you can almost make the person feel like they are guilty for having complained in the first place. If you have them apologizing to you as well you are handling the situation right.
Hopefully they will reward your sympathy and sincere attepmpts to remedy or compensate for the problem. They could do this by remembering you next time they order a gift basket or by letting friends know how well your company handled the situation.
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