Three lessons in how to handle a disappointed customer or how to win arguments and friends

It is an oft repeated business aphorism that “The customer is always right!”  My father who was a salesman liked to say “The customer might not always be always right, BUT he is always the customer!”  A variant on this is “The customer might not always be right but he is never wrong!”  Good companies, or one’s with good customer services have developed a number of strategies to help bridge the gap between a dissatisfied, or unsatisfied, customer and their business.  The key word in the last sentence is bridge.  Lesser businesses feel the need to defend the company and fight off the customers claims, this instantly antagonises and alienates them.  What is required is using a more empathetic approach, using the aikido principle of getting alongside your customer and seeing things from their perspective first.  So here is a strategy to help you do so:-

1. Listen to them:  If they need to vent, let them.  Don’t interrupt or contradict.  Actively listen and only ask questions for clarification.  At this stage you are gathering data about their ‘map’ of their situation.  You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand so once you feel that they have finished, paraphrase what they have said back to them in a sentence that sounds a bit like this “So what is wrong is that you…. is that right?”  Modern rugby coaches say that you have to earn the right to go wide, and similarly, you have to earn the right to enter this dance.  If you have done step one properly, you now understand the problem as they see it and you now have a number of options.  You can either add to the story by bringing additional information to the table which they don’t have or you can correct factual inaccuracies in their version.  After trading facts back and forth you should summarise and agree a joint version of the situation.
2. If you have made a mistake, own it:  If you have got something wrong, own up and do what you can to correct it.  You probably have to not just deliver now, but over deliver to compensate them for the hassle they have suffered.  It is well known that companies that deal well with this kind of issue earn much greater customer loyalty.  Customers will forgive you if you handle it well.  However, if they unreasonable or mistaken expectations then it is ok to say “Sorry, that isn’t the service (or item) we offer”  If you want to win brownie points, then try to point them to resources that do do this kind of thing. 
3. Learn from mistakes and don’t repeat them:  Mistakes tell you where you need to improve either your training, or your processes, so make sure you capture them, review them and take action.  You should keep a journal of these. 

It is worth adding that these techniques can be just as useful in any situation where you have a disappointed person in front of you.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2015 at 07:00 and is filed under Communication, Hints, Tips & Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.