Despite all your best efforts every now and again you will have to deal with customer complaints. It takes some effort to make unhappy customers raving fans.
Even if you do an outstanding job it is just impossible to please everybody all the time.
The worst kind of unhappy customer are the ones who just stop using your goods and services because they are dissatisfied and yet they never tell you why.
They are unhappy, they may tell all their friends that they are unhappy and yet they don’t even give you the opportunity to put things right.
Last time we spoke about how it was the expectations of your customer – how they perceive in their own minds the value of your goods or services to be – which will determine whether they will go on to buy from you again or not.
Sometimes you are given a golden opportunity to convert a customer from unsatisfied to highly satisfied when they complain about their purchase.
Maybe they reply to your RocketResponder email (always check your business email account regularly for communication from customers) or reach out to you via social media.
If you are going to stand any chance of converting them into happy customers then you must do the following:
- Deal with their complaint promptly
- Immediately you receive the complaint contact them back to let them know the matter has your personal and urgent attention
- If you need more information to deal with the matter then ask for it.
- If the customer is being angry or abusive resist the temptation to respond in a like manner, remain professional at all times.
- If you made a mistake admit it and put things right – offer a refund, replacement, compensation or whatever you think is appropriate in the circumstances.
- Above all leave the customer in no doubt that you are taking their complaint seriously.
Do this and there is a good chance that a dissatisfied customer has been transformed into a loyal fan because their expectations have now been exceeded.
This can especially be the case if their initial reaction was abusive and/or completely over the top, which can often happen when people are angry.
Remember a service like RocketResponder is not only to provide a one way flow of traffic from you to the customer. Use it for efficient two way dialogue and you can get even better results.
Customers may respond directly to emails you send out and don’t forget that you can, and should, ask questions of your customers to find out how they perceive you and your business and to gain insight about how you could do things better.