How to deal with Customer Complaints!?

Dealing with customer complaints doesn't always have to be a challenge, with the right tools and responses we can use complaints to our advantage; which will help us build our business.

Client/Customer Relation Officers inevitably encounter customers with complaints and concerns about the quality of the service or product. This causes some to experience anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, guilt, and depression, especially when they believe they may have erred or caused harm. Lack of customer service training and experience may contribute to these emotions. The “BLAST” technique is a complaint-resolution method that is useful in grievance redressal and as a problem-solving tool. The mnemonic stands for Believe (what the customer is saying), Listen (actively, to assess and restate the customer’s unmet expectations), Apologize (for the customer’s unmet expectations), Satisfy (the customer), and Thank (the customer for expressing his/her concerns and providing a second chance to satisfy him/her).

Believe

This is the cornerstone of handling customer complaints. Yes, a customer can lie and be incorrect about their situation. It is important to understand that our customer believes that they have been harmed by our service.

From the outset of the customer encounter, relation officers should convey that they believe in the veracity of the customer’s concerns and the validity of their emotions, even when they do not consider them to be legitimate, reasonable, or appropriate. customers expect to be believed, and belief conveys understanding, support,?and empathy. Empathy, the ability to comprehend and communicate an understanding of another’s emotions and their attached meanings,?is highly beneficial in complaint resolution and is fundamental to good CRO-customer relationships.

Listen

Stop and listen to your customer's complaint. I'm unsure if it's a natural instinct or just?stubbornness. As soon as a customer starts complaining, we start thinking about how we're going to respond to the accusation before we finish listening, and too often we already have a response ready to defend ourselves. Take a moment, relax and listen. At times the complaining customer will be rude, and angry and use profanity, stay the course and remain calm and composed.

BLAST’s second key element is active listening. Complaints often arise from unmet expectations. No matter the outcome, the customer expected something else. Focused, active listening is often necessary to elucidate unmet expectations?and further strengthen rapport and trust.?As with disbelief, it is counterproductive for the officer to defend, justify, or argue. This may further upset the customer who wants solutions, not excuses. BLAST later provides an effective avenue for offering explanations.

Active listening requires that the officers silence his/her inner voice and calmly and patiently attend to the customer without reacting or preparing a rebuttal. Within limits, tolerate anger, rudeness, obscenities, fabrications, exaggerations, personal criticism, histrionics, and repetition. Calmly give the customer his/her uninterrupted “magic minute” to describe, explain, criticize, and vent while conveying a sincere interest in hearing the customer. This is facilitated by facing the customer with an open, relaxed posture; making eye contact, and offering expressions of understanding. Maintaining a quiet mind, emotional control, and attentive posture demonstrates that the officer is unrushed and empathetic.

Listen and clarify. Never defend yourself or make excuses. The customer doesn't care if you were a stenographer or if you're having a bad day, they just care about being taken care of. No excuses, just solutions.

Apologize

Always apologize, even if you did nothing wrong. From your customers' perspective, they have a valid complaint and expect an apology. It can be as simple as "I'm sorry for bothering you." or "I'm sorry, I know how frustrating it is to buy dinner for my family, but I don't have everything there when I get home" A sincere apology usually diffuses a lot of the frustration felt by the customer. However, there is an exception to this rule, if a customer calls with a critical complaint such as food poisoning, don't apologize, it may be taken as an admission of guilt, instead, look at your company's procedures for such incidents.

Satisfy

Do it right. Ask the customer, “What can I do to make it right for you”? Of course judge what is fair, but give them the opportunity to feel empowered about the situation. Many times they may ask that the problem be fixed on the next visit or maybe you talk to the person who made the mistake and fix it. We used a great system of sending out a personalized card with an apology for the mistake, it was a few handwritten sentences but it was personal and always well-received. We always gave them something unexpected, like a free course or an extra package, just to show that we cared.

If the customer’s suggestions are reasonable, the officer can simply accede to them. Otherwise, calmly explain why they may not be the best choice,?propose two or three options (any more is potentially confusing), and let the customer choose.?This gives the customer a sense of involvement and control. When the customer has chosen and the details are explained, be certain to verify that the customer is satisfied with the solution.

Thank

In the beginning, in the end, in the middle; never mind, thank the customer for the call and complaint.

Why? With the simple act of complaining, your customer is telling you, "I care about your business and your success." They give you an opportunity to fix the problem and invite them back so they can give you more of their money. Gives it a different spin doesn't it? Thank them for giving you a second chance, for letting you know that something wasn't working as usual in your restaurant, for giving you a chance to fix it, and for not damaging your reputation!

Reputation? I had to put it here. You work hard every day, trying your best to make your business the best it can be, and yet one unhappy customer can take it away from you. A satisfied customer will tell two or three friends about a good experience, but an unhappy customer will tell at least ten friends about their experience, and word of mouth always multiplies.

Adding B.L.A.S.T. to your expanding customer service toolset to help you deal with customer complaints and turn them around so they can tell their friends about your great service!