Category Archives: Handling complaints

Customer Service Is “Manipulating Symbols”

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  • No matter how rude a customer can be……..
  • No matter how grumpy a customer can be……
  • No matter how demanding a customer can be…….
  • No matter how uninformed a customer can be……
  • No matter how unreasonable a customer can be……

You can satisfy the vast majority of them and keep them loyal to your business.

Here is all you have to do:

  • Keep your mouth shut!
  • Listen to what they say!
  • Send your fragile ego out to lunch!
  • Solve their problem!

You solve their problem by thinking. Thinking is manipulating symbols or data in your brain. Thinking is not “recalling” a list of things to do. Manipulating symbols and data in your brain helps you come up with new and novel ideas and solutions. This is what you must do when dealing with customers. You can classify them all you want, but every single one of them is unique in some way. This is why you can’t rely on a one-size-fits-all customer service policy. A written customer service policy is only effective as a starting point. The uniqueness of those customers will require you to think when dealing with them. If you or your associates stick to a “policy”, without being flexible, you will not satisfy a lot of them. You’ve got a customer service policy but you’re back to square one with customer satisfaction.

This is why customer service doesn’t get a whole lot better. Inflexible customer service policies don’t work. Consumers are unique and they change. I call that flexible. The people dealing with that must also be flexible! In too many cases they’re not allowed to be. Thus, the never-ending story!

Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not reserved for artists and inventors. Most people use creativity much more often than they think they do. If you allow people in service positions to use that creativity more often, the benefits to your business will be greater than you may know!

Their is a solution to every problem! Are your associates allowed to “manipulate symbols” to come up with those solutions? Do you “manipulate symbols” to help make that so?

 

 

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Two Simple Words = Powerful Customer Service

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Here’s the first thing you should say to a customer that returns to your store with a purchase.

“I’m Sorry”

You must say this with sincerity. It’s the most effective way to convey your willingness to help the customer and it puts them at ease. Your best chance at saving the sale is to have the customer at ease.

Don’t, in any way, make the customer feel they are wrong. Be as willing to help with their problem as you would be making a sale.

“I’m sorry it (whatever “it” may be) doesn’t work”. “I’ll exchange it for a new one if you like”.

“I’m sorry it doesn’t fit”. “let me help you find the right size.”

“I’m sorry it’s the wrong item”. “Let’s see if we have what you really need”

“I’m sorry you decided not to keep it”. ” Is there anything else we have that you might like”?

Saying “I’m Sorry” is the best way to convey your empathy to a customer and let them know you care!

A Note To Whiny Customer Service Reps

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You customer service reps out there who complain and have all of your whiny reasons why your job is so bad……..Get Out! You’re going to be whining until the world comes to an end; and that can be very, very stressful on you. Until your organization decides to handle customer service correctly, those customers will continue to get angry and take it out on you.

“Most” problems customers have are not unreasonable.

“Most” of those problems are created from poor habits at the point of sale. The customer is sent out the door with inadequate knowledge about what they got themselves into. Yep! That’s right!

Your salespeople don’t know they’re doing this and the customer doesn’t realize it’s being done to them until there’s a glitch. Then the blame game starts. If you are going to have the bad attitude of playing that game……You Lose…..period! But if you play, you have to decide how you will placate that customer and we all know that process can be draining.

But you say, our salespeople treat the customer right and help them all they can. How does this cause problems later.

People get so focused on making the sale, whether that be from pressure by management or just trying to be cute, they are hardly focused on the customer. When you’re not focused on customers the right way they may leave with a purchase that is not what they really need or they may leave with a purchase that they don’t understand correctly. This obviously raises the chance of them becoming upset once the product is home. You see, even if they are at fault for making the wrong decision…..you get the blame. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it will be!

“Knockout Customer Service Rule” # 5: You’re better off talking a customer out of buying if you know the purchase may not be right for them!

JOE! Did you just say what I thought you said? You bet I did! My experience has shown that if you care about helping people and make sure you ask them if they are completely satisfied with their purchase before they leave your store, you will end up with far fewer unsatisfied and unhappy customers. You also save a lot of potential costs later when trying to make things right.

The profit you make on a sale may pale in comparison to the cost to you later if you aren’t honest and transparent right up front in the selling process!

This is called nipping potential problems in the bud. It’s effective and it definitely works. I’ll devote my next post entirely to this rule.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. There are going to be some unreasonable and hard to deal with customers. That’s just the way it is. But these should be few and far between and if they are not; your company really has issues. Even if you lose these customers, you should still handle them with dignity and respect. But always remember; they still don’t owe you a wonderful day! If you can’t deal with their abuse, please re-read my opening paragraph to this post. Personally, I have never dealt with an irate customer that I couldn’t calm down! I may not have saved them all, but I could stop their abuse. And trust me, I’m no genius. It can be done!

Calming down irate customers is your job. If you’re so miserable handling the anger and bad language, you’ve got some serious thinking to do because it won’t change no matter how much you complain about it. I wander around the web reading comments on blogs with customer service reps whining because “poor little me” gets treated so bad by customers. It’s not about you. As long as you have that poor me attitude, you’ll never be able to deal with customer service problems adequately.

In your defense, here’s your second big problem. You work with your hands tied. This ends up frustrating you. Frustration is not the best mental state to be in when dealing with the public. Your company ties your hands by not allowing you to take care of that difficult customer on the spot. And by take care of, I don’t mean passing them off. If you aren’t allowed to take care of my problem without having to pass me off to a supervisor, you are in many cases “escalating” the problem,  and it’s not your fault.

Until the people in charge of your organization understand this and make a Real effort at providing customer service, you’re going to get the guff that angry customers dish out.

While you do that, your managers get to go to more meetings and seminars to learn all the new metrics and paradigms and whatever else about improving customer service. Then they will come back and show you another way to handle those customers that still get angry from their last brilliant customer service policy.

In the meantime, quit complaining about angry customers and quit whining about how “poor little you” are treated. Instead, complain about your companies’ customer service policies. Ask them to untie your hands! Good luck!

Excellent, Effective Customer Service Sometimes Means Unlearning What We Have Learned!

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When you are dealing with a customer problem or complaint, always start with the mind-set that it is your problem and not the customer’s. You should think this way because it’s the ONLY way the customer will look at it!

A complaint is usually with the product or with the way the customer was treated. In any case, it’s your problem. I know this is not earth-shaking news to you, but it really is that simple. Don’t make it any more complicated than that.

Always apologize and assure the customer you want to make things right.

Now you must look at the problem from your perspective and decide how to satisfy the customer.

This is all done under the assumption that you want to satisfy the customer. If customer satisfaction is not at the top of your to-do list then read no further.

You basically have two options available when the customer is not happy. Which one to take is based on whether the complaint is “reasonable” or “unreasonable”.

Option 1: If the complaint is “reasonable”, you must understand your resources and your operation to come up with the solution to the problem. If the problem is with the product, you must know your relations with the supplier and make an adjustment. If the problem is with customer treatment, you must deal with that internally but assure the customer you WILL deal with whomever was the problem so it doesn’t happen again. And emphatically apologize in this instance!

Option 2: Here’s the fun choice! It’s the one that can really make or break your relationship with a customer. If the complaint is “unreasonable”, you must decide if you are willing to do what I call “buy the customer”! There are times when the only way you can satisfy a customer is by sacrificing part or all of your profit. Now I know in today’s world of stockholders and investors this may sound like treason but there are times you’ll end up on the negative end if you are going to satisfactorily handle a complaint to save a customer. That’s the way it has been, the way it is, and the way it will be! It’s the human nature aspect raising its head and believe me, you don’t have time to wait for genetic changes to take place! It takes 2,000 generations for even a slight genetic change to take place on a cellular level. You’re better off learning to roll with the punches. I hope you are getting my message here!

Don’t get me wrong though. You can’t go overboard either. You must use your knowledge and ingenuity to make your adjustment as least costly as possible. I’ll say again as I’ve said before, if you know and understand your business you will be able to handle this type of problem to the customer’s satisfaction. Trust me, it is worth it.

If you think about your customer acquisition costs, the lifetime value of a customer and what you’ll save without the incredible negative reach today’s consumer has, you might be surprised at how little an adjustment to that occasional, unreasonable customer really costs you.

So that my friends is the simple, no-nonsense, but proven and effective way to approach and handle customer complaints. Not from the conference room, not from a committee decision, not from some academic who never personally dealt with a customer, and not from unreliable surveys, but from someone who has stood face-to-face with countless customers right there on the firing line.

If this sounds too easy, go ahead and make it more complicated. But please answer this question for me. With all the analysis, surveys, and academic effort going into customer service policies, why is customer service getting worse? Maybe we have to unlearn some of what we have learned!

Have a Happy New Year and I hope 2012 is your best year ever!

A Great How-To On Customer Service

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My next example of knock-out-customer-service is from my own experience as a merchant. I hope you learn something you can apply to your business.  Remember, I don’t write these rants to be a complainer. I write them hoping they will help change the horrible state of customer service I see everywhere I go.

This incident makes clear some of the erroneous thinking processes that can go on in the mind of your customers. I don’t say that to be negative about people but to point out  the way it is out there.

We carried a brand of shoes in our store that was very popular. They fit people very well and they were extremely comfortable. We knew this because our customers told us how much they liked them. This line of shoes was so popular, we carried one style in eight colors and many sizes and widths to meet the demand.

The shoes were of excellent quality and we very rarely received a pair back with defects.

One day, a customer who had purchased her first pair of these shoes, returned them with a defect. The sole on one was coming loose and she had only had them a couple of weeks. The shoes showed no signs of abuse so I obviously decided to make an adjustment.

Now, here is where a customer’s faulty reasoning can come into the picture and muck things up if you’re not careful. It’s also where knowing your product and having confidence in same can save the day.

I told the customer I would repair the shoes, or replace them with a brand new pair. Whatever she wanted to do. She said she didn’t want that brand of shoes again because of the problem.

Now remember, every product out there, whatever it may be, will have some manufacturing defects escape the factory. This is normal.

I explained to the customer that we sold hundreds of pairs of that brand and we rarely had a problem with them. I also knew the odds were very high that if she wore them she would be back to purchase more in the future.

I told her I hated to see her sour on an entire brand of shoes because of one rare defect. I told her that if she would take a replacement pair and give them one more try, and wasn’t happy with the shoes, I would replace them with something different or give her a refund. Whatever she preferred. No questions asked, no argument.

Notice here the loss I’m exposing myself to. If she wears the shoes and decides she doesn’t like them, I might be giving a refund and have a second pair of shoes on my hands that can’t be returned to the factory for credit or resold because of the wear.

I took this risk because I knew from the products history the odds were with me everything would work out. But, most importantly, I wanted to keep this customer happy!

Anyway, she agreed and became a very good customer. She even thanked me later for “talking her into” keeping the shoes because they were so comfortable.

I hope you saw in this anecdote the value of knowing your product. I knew enough about the product that the chances were very strong she would like the shoes if she gave them a chance. That’s how product knowledge becomes customer service. Also, throughout the entire process, I never let her think that she was wrong. I only tried to correct her faulty reasoning without upsetting her. I wanted to help!