In customer service, like any other area of life,
criticism is usually difficult to listen to. We don’t like to be
told what we are doing wrong (especially if it is really only
someone else’s opinion about what they think we are doing wrong).
However, wise business leaders discovered long ago that companies
who don’t effectively deal with customer complaints don’t stay in
business for very long. While this aspect of customer service is
viewed by some as a necessary evil, it is potentially a very
valuable tool for improving and growing your business.
Look at it this way; customer complaints are kind of like the
proverbial canary in the mine shaft –
they can be an early warning indicator that the company may be
headed for a rough time if certain problems aren’t addressed. Too
often, management tends to react proactively only to profitability
issues, which can sometimes take several quarters to address.
Monitoring customer complaints can tip you off months in advance to
growing problems with products or services that might eventually
hurt your bottom line.
So, it is time to take customer complaints seriously. Instead of
building your customer service model around closing a case as soon
as possible (a major computer company tried that and their market
share plummeted), shift your focus to effectively understanding the
nature of the complaint and the needs of the customer and creating a
solution that thoroughly addresses the full scope of the problem.
The latest research indicates that customer complaints can be
divided into three major categories: complaints about the
performance of individual employees; complaints about various
products, services and policies of the company; or mistakes,
misperceptions and confusion on the part of the customer. It is
interesting to note that the vast majority of all customer
complaints arise from categories two and three. Armed with this
information, companies can design their CSR training and customer
service programs to more effectively address and learn from customer
complaints.
Individual Employees –
Customer complaints regarding individual employees generally fall
into two sub-categories: employee attitude and employee competence.
Often, both of these problems are the result of poor training. With
everything "moving at the speed of business" these days, too many
companies skimp on employee training. Not only are employees not
always properly screened and prepared to deal professionally with
all aspects of customer interaction, they are often not even
properly trained on the company’s core products and practices.
(Several well-known home/hardware products retailers that advertise
the helpful expertise of their floor associates have been roundly
criticized by consumers because many of these "experts" can’t even
find stock on the shelves, much less give useful advice regarding
the best plumbing repair options). Employee screening and training
gaps always show up as customer complaint calls.
The Company – Let’s face it;
even though most companies try very hard to deliver excellent
products and services, sometimes the process breaks down
(literally). An industry leader in personal computers invested
millions in the latest processing and graphics technology for their
laptops, but skimped on the durability of their LCD screen displays.
This lead to high failure rates in the pixels of the screen,
producing annoying dead spots in the graphics, ruining an otherwise
very wonderful product, and triggering a high volume of customer
complaints! Production flaws, design failures, process breakdowns
– even overly enthusiastic
marketing claims that create unrealistic customer expectations
– will all result in an
avalanche of customer complaints. CSRs need to be properly briefed
on how to honestly and professionally address these problems. Most
customers are willing to forgive company mistakes IF the company
will admit the problem and fix it.
The Customer – While this
comes as no surprise to most CSRs, a surprising high number of
customer complaints are the result of customer errors,
misunderstandings and mistakes. These situations certainly can be
delicate to deal with, but the company is always best served when
the CSR maintains a professional, caring and helpful attitude.
Instead of dismissing the customer with a "you’re the one who messed
this up, what do expect me to do" response, an effective CSR will
begin by apologizing for the fact that the customer is having
trouble and then patiently guide the customer through a set of
options to address the problem. Companies that train their CSRs to
take advantage of these sometimes frustrating
– maybe even unfair
– complaints and use them to
educate the customer and build bridges of good will can turn a
complaint into a compliment and keep a valued customer.
You do value customers, don’t you? Then take customer complaints
seriously and use them as opportunities to make your whole company
better. The customer will certainly be glad if you do, but in the
end, so will you!
After you have listened attentively to the customer’s concerns,
it is time to ask questions. These questions serve two purposes.
First of all, good questions demonstrate to the customer that you
are listening and you do care. More than that, however, asking good
questions (and, again, carefully listening to the answers) helps you
zero in on the customer’s most important needs so that you can
identify the best set of options to offer as solutions. These
questions should be delivered with a friendly, helpful tone. Don’t
make the customer feel like he is being interrogated.
If you follow my recommendations this far, you are well on your
way to delivering great customer service, and you haven’t even
agreed on a final solution yet. Of course, your customer may still
be asking for the moon, and you may not be able to provide that
perfect solution he would prefer. However, by taking the time to
make that person feel noticed, listened to and valued, you have
already addressed one of his most important needs: you have
demonstrated that you (and your company) really care. It will be
much easier for the customer to accept the solution you are able to
provide, because you have paved the way by following the Golden Rule
