 The Customer is always right. Or are they? What happens when you get a customer that is truly unreasonable? What happens when no matter what you say they just don’t get it? What happens when customers ask for every bell and whistle but only wants to pay for bare bones?
Everyone who has been in business for any amount of time has had the customer that just couldn’t be satisfied. Perhaps you have experienced the customer who keeps your call center rep on the line for over an hour going over the same issue again and again without resolution or the customer who yelled and screamed in your showroom or retail establishment What is wrong with these people?
All of these customers from hell can make for a very bad day. Some people just can’t be pleased no matter what you do or say. Just because a customer is very difficult to please however, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. Even if they are wrong there is probably something about their issue or circumstance you can learn from and there are definitely opportunities to improve your image based on how you handle the issues or objections presented by your customers.
It’s been said that where there is smoke there is fire. When you receive a complaint no matter how ridiculous it appears on the surface try to put yourself in the customers place. That shouldn’t be too hard because we are all customers ourselves and have had our own fair share of product and service issues. When things go as they are supposed to we just take it for granted. That’s what you expect and so it’s no big deal. When things go wrong is when the real opportunities for brand building and customer loyalty development occur. How have your felt when you just couldn’t get an issue resolved. You probably developed a very negative perception about the brand or company you were dealing with and probably told at least ten other people about your experience.
To avoid damaging your reputation and to reduce stress for yourself and your employees consider the following approaches to help take the “Cuss” out of customer service.
1) Be truthful in your advertising and promotion. Don’t promise things that are not truthful or that you can’t deliver. Sure promising the world may be a good way to get people into the door but it also one of the fastest ways to kill a business if you can’t deliver on your promise.
2) Listen carefully to what the customer is saying. Often misunderstandings that occur can be resolved by listening to the customer’s side and then simply pointing out any factual differences in perception that may have occurred.
3) Give the customer plenty of opportunity to vent. Many times a customer simply wants to be heard. Don’t interrupt them with your perception of the facts until you have heard their side of the story.
4) Acknowledge when you have done something wrong. Don’t try to rationalize how it may have happened to the customer. The customer just wants to know that they have been heard and what you are going to do about it. Sometimes a simple apology is all it takes to make a valued customer feel better. By acknowledging the customer issues you can often diffuse anger and begin to calm them down.
5) Train your employees to recognize “problem customers” and how to deal with them and encourage them to report all occurrences of difficult customers. After all where there is smoke there often is fire and identifying and correcting problems from one customer before they have a chance to affect others makes your company more competitive and increases the value of your offerings.
6) Always take the “high road” when dealing with customers. Don’t lose your cool or allow yourself become unprofessional. By treating people with respect and courtesy even if they don’t admit it right away you will make a better impression. You may also be surprised at how others when viewing the problem situation respect you and improve their impression of the organization based on what they see and hear.
About the Author – Scott Francis is President of Topline Development LLC a Strategic Marketing Consulting Group that provides helps companies determine how they can make the most amount of money with the least amount of resources. To learn more about Topline Development LLC visit their web site at www.ToplineDevelopment.com or contact Scott directly at scott@toplinedevelopment.com. |
