Handling customer complaints is tough when you are doing your very best to help them!
Clare Yates MNAEA
Helping law firms and estate agents to win more new business, improve customer relationships and create clients for life.
So many hard-working conveyancers are talking about the challenge of handling demanding clients right now and everyone is experiencing delays due to sheer volume of work.
I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want to help their customers. The best reward is to receive a heart-felt “thank you” so a complaint feels like a kick in the teeth!
It’s not your fault. It’s just how it is across the breadth of the chain, but it doesn’t mean you need to take complaints on the chin and pretend they didn’t upset you.
So how do you keep going, remain motivated and stay positive in the face of so much negativity?
- Remind yourself that it’s not personal – they are stressed and you are an easy target for venting their frustration.
- Recognise when it’s just abuse and put the phone down… then pick up the phone to a friend or colleague to talk it through
- Try to listen out for the genuine feedback as it may help you to learn how to handle things better in future
Here are 6 suggestions of ways to try to diffuse difficult situations and avoid conflict.
- It can be powerful to encourage desired behaviour by sincerely acknowledging, appreciating and reinforcing the other person’s behaviour so they repeat it. E.g. “Thank you for waiting” or “Thank you for giving us your feedback and allowing us to respond to your concerns.”
- "No news" is bad news for customers so proactively provide regular progress reports, updating and advising customers as to what is happening and why
- Highlight any progress made and give realistic time projections
- Avoid using words like “Unfortunately & Can’t” as they indicate a negative stance
- Focus on “What I CAN DO”
- To help the person understand & set their expectations, explain the process and/or what will happen in the future.
Most importantly, remember we WILL get through this and there will be better days. Look after yourself, ask for help from friends and colleagues on tough days and remind yourself of all the customers you have already helped move into their new homes.
What tips would you share on how to deal with difficult or demanding clients?
Founder & Director, The ESTAS Group LTD
4 年I know many conveyancers that are working 7 days a week and close to mental exhaustion! I just hope the Government listens and extends the 31st March deadline - at least for deals that are still in the pipeline.
Belong. A unique, eye catching contemporary brand of Estate Agency ??. Happy to tell it how it is in the world of Estate Agency.
4 年I have a real issue with this Clare. Conveyancers and Conveyancing solicitors have brought this on themselves over twenty years.... They have allowed panel managers and Estate agents to dictate fee levels and therefore starved themselves of the money to innovate and employ more people. Innovation and additional hands on deck would ultimately improve the customer journey; reduce stress and improve revenues through added value for all. Kill referral fees and panel managers, boost industry innovation through professional bodies, improve service and reap the financial rewards ........ And that’s coming from an early innovator and advocate of referral fees
Great article Clare! It's easy to get bogged down with all the negativity at the minute, these are good tips.
Compliance Officer and Licensed Conveyancer at Conveyancing Direct Property Lawyers
4 年I think making sure you pick up the phone to your colleagues to ‘vent’ yourself is also so important. I’m afraid that working from home can aggravate the situation and it can be easy to fall into a negative defensive trap! Good management and operations teams are vital right now, support, praise and communication is key to protecting staff ...
Shining a light into the black hole of conveyancing
4 年These are VERY challenging times. I personally think that these are the days when management must step up to lead and protect their colleagues. As a company known for brilliant proactive communication, we are dealing with daily frustrations that we have never seen before. Hard working lawyers deserve more protection and their managers should be providing this. They should be calling clients to explain and help prioritise cases