Turn Angry Customers
into Loyal Customers
It's one thing to deal
with an angry customer. It's another to deal with an angry customer who's right
because you've made a blunder. The key to making your customer service
successful is not only to soothe the angry customer, but to turn this person
into a loyal customer. Believe it or not, it's possible to use this situation
to your advantage to show your customer how far you are willing to go to keep
his/her business.
Customer
service experts look at this as a four-step process:
Step 1: Acknowledge -- let the
customer know that you've made an error.
Step 2: Apologize -- state clearly and sincerely that you regret making
the error.
Step 3: Rectify the problem -- fix any mistake you've made, no questions
asked.
Step 4: Go one better -- don't just fix the problem; go the extra step
to make sure you give the customer incredible service.
Click on the following
five scenarios to see how to put this into action:
Example: A diner in a busy restaurant becomes furious with a
brusque waiter.
Solution: Acknowledge the diner's
complaint, apologize, assign another waiter to the table and offer the customer
a complimentary dessert. "Give the customer a reason to return,"
advises Rebecca Morgan, a business communication expert and author of
"Calming Upset Customers" (Crisp Publications). "In order to
keep a good customer, you must be prepared to go that extra mile by showing you
truly value their business. Giving lip service and making excuses are not
enough."
Shoddy
or defective merchandise
Example: A customer storms in to return a "defective"
computer that he/she apparently misused.
Solution: It's a touchy situation if a
customer misused or mishandled the product. Having a "No Returns"
policy is not good idea -- you need to show you are flexible and that you stand
by what you sell. Whatever happened, be gracious and don't make a customer feel
stupid for being careless or misusing the product. If you can, replace the
product and eat the cost - what you are losing in return you will make up in
loyalty. If you can't exchange the product (it's a one-of-a-kind item, for
instance), try to de-escalate his/her anger and frustration with an alternative
solution. Apologize for not being able to replace the merchandise. Offer to
repair it for free, and give a 10-20 percent discount on the person's next
purchase.
Example: A shop or factory is brought to a standstill because
an important delivery of raw materials didn't arrive on time.
Solution: Don't wait until after the
fact to inform customers. Ward off ugly confrontations by alerting your
customers of delays as soon as you become aware of them. You might say,
"I'm calling to tell you that our trucks had to be rerouted because of a
blizzard in the
Example: An advertising agency puts the wrong phone number in a
print ad.
Solution: Acknowledge the mistake,
apologize, and then make good on it. Fix the ad immediately for free (not
cost), with all other projects going on the back burner. Call the publication
and tell them to pull the ad immediately. Eat any costs involved, including the
cost of placing a new ad with the correct information. If you catch the mistake
before the client sees it, don't be mute -- tell the client about it
immediately. You may risk losing the customer, but chances are it will prove to
be smart business to show you're willing to admit a problem and rectify it.
Example: Anxious to speak to a human being to place an order
for a product, a customer gets lost in the automated answering system, and when,
after 5 minutes of pressing the "#" sign, gets connected to a real
person only to be told immediately to "please hold" and gets
transferred to a voicemail instructing them to leave a message.
Solution: The best way to calm a
justifiably frustrated customer is to fix the system. But, that can't always be
done immediately. After you acknowledge and apologize, offer the caller a
short-cut or faster way to reach you -- "Next time you call, immediately
hit '0' and ask the operator to page me. That should save you time."
They'll appreciate the information and feel good about receiving special
treatment. Additionally, it is essential that a person transferring a call
makes sure the party they're transferring to is
present, or asks the caller if he/she would like to leave a voicemail message.
Be sure to train your human "answerers" in this technique.
Ken Roys, CEO
BTF Management Consultants Inc
866-385-1900 Toll Free 713-983-7904 Fax
Ken.Roys@btfmanagement.com
www.btfmanagement.com