adminShelter Chieza Change Management
I have seen and felt an irate customer who loves drama especially in the presence of fellow customers. This lady at one time literally blew her horn off and chose to register her complaint in the most extravagant way I have ever seen. At that stage, reasoning with such type of a person just does not hold. Already you two have divergent views and it feels as if there is a deep chasm in the world you are in that objectivity and rationale cannot cross. You are wondering . . . what can you do? There is your customer and you are the supplier-the longer you take to solve the situation, the more she blows off. That woman was gifted, she was so opinionated beyond doubt and all the other customers were distracted to the point that I was unprepared to give in to her demands. Deep down I knew that I had made a “career limiting move” decision but something had to be done.
That’s just a day in the life of a client services executive. So stressful can it be but it is a strategy that companies often have to plan to anticipate. Complaint handling is better managed as you learn from service failures.
You must be able to map out a procedure which reacts swiftly to a situation. Decision and outcomes must emanate from an agreed corporate point which creates a win-win situation for both the customer and the company.
What one is trying to avoid is a situation where you give in to a customers’ demands and in the process hurt the company’s profile — it’s not always wise to give in to customer demands.
You can consider yourself effective at handling complaints when you are successful in deflecting the spreading of the damaging word of mouth.
The challenge really is to handle the situation in a way that leaves the customer thinking you are the greatest company that pays attention to customers. If you manage to solve it well, you might get an ambassador of your brand. Let’s face it, most customers may not even bother to complain. They will simply leave and buy from your competition.
I believe sometimes a business might not have to solely handle their own marketing initiatives.
Customers that have been satisfied with service are active ambassadors of a brand. Even those that have been dissatisfied with your service can now be ambassadors provided you have handled their complaint well.
Always listen carefully to what the customer has to say. Complaints may happen every day, do not take them for granted and say that customers have a habit of complaining.
When a customer complains, more than eight out of 10 times it is usually for a good reason or genuine concern. They may have made a purchase or been given a service that did not meet their expectation.
Appreciate that they could have gone to another company but have made an effort to bring to your attention. Always keep your calm, do not see it as a personal and deliberate attack.
By keeping your cool, you have already put yourself in a position of strength. Give the customer the time to blow off steam and respond with phrases such as, “Hmm,” “I see”, . . . do not interrupt. As the customer vents and sees you are not reacting, he or she will begin to calm down.
Remember that for you to solve anything you need to see things at the same level.
Acknowledge that there is a problem, if your company made a mistake, calmly admit it, if it is a misunderstanding explain it so to the customer.
Put yourself in a position that you do not frustrate them but respect their opinion, whether good or bad. Handling complaints has tints of psychological dispositions; sometimes taking down notes can buy time and calm the irate customer down.
As a company, you must have laid down rules of how to react to such kind of things, this kind of customer needs a solution right away not a follow up .
Know what you can and cannot do within your company’s guidelines. Do not ever make a promise you cannot keep.
Do not ever get into the blame game playing field, you will lose the game. You still need this customer. Sometimes there is need to call in a third party such as a lawyer or consultant who can offer a more impartial perception on the problem.
Till next week, may God richly bless you.
Shelter Chieza is an adviser in management issues. She can be contacted at [email protected]
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