And still – the customer is always right!
Do you remember the times when the most important sentence for each company was: “The customer is always right!”? Nowadays this “A-Must” is out of style because there are much more low qualified employees in the customer service branch.
Don’t you believe me? Ok, now let me tell you what happened this week. A friend of mine was shopping in the supermarket where he has a discount. He bought some goods but when he was already at the park place in front of the store he realized that the cashier lady didn’t reduce his bill. The products have yellow stickers which should be unticked and get marked on the pay desk. Although the stickers were on the products. My friend came back to the store, patiently waited on the queue and explained to the lady there that he just wants to use his discount card. Surprisingly the lady was staring at him really angry and then she just said: “How am I supposed to know that you didn’t re-stick the stickers?”
My friend just smiled and told her that he’ll bring back all of the products he just bought. Everything was seen by other clients as well and the case was forwarded to the store manager.
The basic skill to manage the success of your business is how you deal with customer claims. So don’t make mistakes! Teach your employees how to communicate with clients on a professional level.
Listen and understand. Firstly, always listen carefully what a client is telling you. Free yourself of the allurement to react as quickly as possible. Take some time to understand clearly what’s the customer’s case and what is he claiming.
Be empathetic. Be empathetic with the position of your client in order to create relation with each other.
Suggest a solution. Always focus on what you’re able to do instead of what you are not. There’s always a solution.
Accomplish the solution. To suggest a solution and to make it happen are 2 completely different things. Don’t forget it.