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Customer complaints should always be taken seriously. You can turn a negative
situation into a positive by treating complaints as opportunities to show
customers how much you care about providing exceptional service.
Customer’s Bill of Rights:
To be taken seriously
To be listened to
To be respected
To receive a quick response
No business, no matter how big or small, likes to have customers complain about the service they have
received or the product they have bought. There is something galling about being the subject of a
complaint, and no matter how impersonal it is, it still feels almost like a personal slight. The important
thing in business is to respond to such a situation with the requisite level of grace. Where the customer
goes away raving about what a fabulous level of customer service they have received in adversity, and
promising to return when they next need a similar service.
Mistakes happen in life and in business, and so much of what we are about is shown by how we deal
with the consequences of these mistakes. The situation which a customer is complaining about may not
even have been your error to begin with, but regardless of who made the error, taking ownership of it
and dealing with a complaint in a gracious, helpful manner can turn an awkward situation into one
which showcases the best of your abilities. There is, in many cases, a tendency to become defensive
when someone is complaining – especially if they are doing so in a very forthright manner. Maintaining a
professional tone at these times can be difficult, but managing to do it and solve the problem can
showcase a positive side of you and the business.
Even if you think the issue about which the customer is complaining is trivial, not a cause for complaint,
or not your company’s fault, it is wise to give the customer their chance to speak, show that you take
them seriously, and offer to do whatever you can. If the problem genuinely turns out to be something
you can do nothing about – because of a difficulty with another company’s product or the customers
understanding of the way the product should work – there may still be something you can do – by
placing a telephone call or getting a technician to check out the problem. By showing a commitment to
helping customers, you can win some valuable reputation points.